Materials:
Pen and blue ink, Postcard
Dimensions:
15 x 10 cm
Accession Number:
2020.38
Credit:
Donated by The Estate of Dr Thomas Frangenberg through the Contemporary Art Society, 2018/19
Ownership history:
Gifted by the Estate of Thomas Frangenberg (1957-2018) to the Contemporary Art Society; presented to Manchester Art Gallery, 2018/19
Neeta Madahar & Melanie Rose were originally commissioned to make new work for the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery's exhibition, The Moon and Smile (2017), invited to respond to a period in the 1840s and 1850s, when Swansea was at the centre of early experiments in photography worldwide. John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810–1882) played a leading role in nearby Penllergare, as did his wife, Emma (1808–1881), cousin of photography’s inventor, William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877). Dillwyn’s sister, Mary (1816–1906), captured the earliest photograph of a smile and his daughter, Thereza (1834–1926), the first photograph of the moon. The family’s passion for growing orchids became the inspiration for Neeta Madahar & Melanie Rose. Photographing the ruins of the Orchid House at Penllergare, they then studied family correspondence in the archives at Kew Gardens and identified forty species of orchids grown at Penllergare. Selecting eight orchids, they worked experimentally with traditional and digital processes to make one-off silver gelatin prints, giving the flowers an almost uncanny presence.
All rights reserved. Any further use will need to be cleared with the rights holder. Permission granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only. Commercial copying, hiring, lending is prohibited.
Read our copyright policy for more information.
