Thursday 16 July 2015

Lily Ponds at Kew

Down in a muggy London for the preview of the Barbara Hepworth exhibition at the Tate, I took the opportunity to go to Kew to photograph the lily ponds there as further material for my London show next year.

Here's some of the photos from a swelteringly hot Waterlily House, and the Princess of Wales Conservatory.  The waterlilies are only viewable during the summer months when they flower, the plants being cleared away completely during the winter.





I liked the reflections of the panes of glass from the roof upon the surface of the water, which gave a lovely contrast of the geometric lines, the soft organic circles of the plant leaves, and the delicate stems and curving tendrils.  It's a very sensual environment.



Beautifully subtle and unusual colours, and a certain mysterious quality to the plants as they appear through the surface of the water or float on the top.  With the interplay of reflections of the plants and the sky, there are many different complex layers and depths.









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