Elizabeth Zeschin captures Parham House & Gardens in new exhibition

Celebrated photographer Elizabeth Zeschin has captured Parham House & Gardens in her artist-in-residence exhibition which runs until June 30.
Elizabeth ZeschinElizabeth Zeschin
Elizabeth Zeschin

Elizabeth, who lives close by, has been using a traditional large format plate view camera to record the House, Gardens and landscape at Parham.

Visitors are encouraged to discover Elizabeth’s interpretation of Parham before exploring the House and Gardens that have inspired her work.

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A successful photographer for more than 30 years, Elizabeth’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions at The National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Academy, The Arden Anstruther Gallery and The Chelsea Arts Club.

“I have been photographing Parham for about five years, initially through my own resolve to capture the garden. I wanted to do a project and then I was employed by Parham. I am a lifestyle photographer. I photograph people and gardens and interiors.

“When they raised the idea for this exhibition, I thought ‘Oh dear, how do I capture Parham anew?’ The Eureka moment came to me when I thought that I would look at it anew by going back to the old.

“My first love has always been the dark room. I have always been intrigued and interested by photographic history, and I felt for the first time in ten years like a photographer again.

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“The great love for me has always been the magic of the dark room. It has always been seeing the image come up and the magic of that.”

As artist in residence, Elizabeth looked at Parham from a new perspective by using a large format Sinar 10x8” View Camera, a model that was in use around 100 years ago and works in much the same way as its predecessors. The bellows on her camera date back to the 1940s and the lens, provided by the National Maritime Museum, originates from the 1960s.

Elizabeth also returned to her roots, experimenting with developing the photos using techniques such as salt printing, which was invented in the mid-1830s by scientist and inventor Henry Fox Talbot.

Elizabeth said: “The house cast its particular spell on my first visit. As I have got to know it well over the past few years, my fondness has grown.

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“It is a house content with itself and it emanates the good will and love of those who have inhabited it.

“For me as a photographic artist raised in the western United States, Parham provides an ongoing source of rich historical and artistic inspiration. It is both a window into history and a canvas for the future.

“For this project, I am particularly looking forward to embracing an older analogue process of photography, much slower than modern digital capture. I am excited not only about the possible print results, but also by using a View Camera again and using the techniques of early photographic invention.”

Elizabeth’s photographs capturing the beautiful House, Gardens and landscape at Parham were developed by Elizabeth herself.

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As well as exhibitions, Elizabeth’s work has been published in some of the world’s best print magazines including The New York Times Magazine, House and Garden, The World of Interiors, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Telegraph Sunday Magazine, Vogue and Vanity Fair amongst others.

For more information, visit http://www.parhaminsussex.co.uk.

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