honorable mention
Kirsty Mitchell united kingdomPhoto © Kirsty Mitchell
title
Minna
Minna was the stylist for the week and on the last day when the chaos was finally ending, I asked if she'd let me take her portrait in my bedroom.
I scooped duckweed from the lake in the grounds and gathered a mix of living and dying hydrangeas. We sat together in the afternoon half light of my room, whilst she patiently let me wipe the vivid green over her face and body and wrap her waist with fragile pieces of antique Japanese embroidery that I'd brought from home. My dear friend Elbie painted Minna's lips a dark blood burgundy and within an hour the light was gone and the picture taken.
Inspired by her mother’s passion for literature and the fairy tales they shared, Mitchell embarked on a journey of self healing through the lens; describing photography as becoming both an obsession and a way to process the overwhelming grief she experienced in the years that followed. Mitchell drew on her past careers in fashion design and costume making, to produce images of beguiling dream-like worlds. She would spend months meticulously handcrafting her character’s costumes and props to compose and then photograph in all weathers, out in the ancient woodlands that surrounded her home.
In September 2015 The artist’s five-year journey culminated in the extraordinary book Wonderland, documenting all seventy-four photographs in the collection; as well as containing her highly emotional journal written throughout it’s creation. To this day, it remains the most successful photography book in crowdfunding history, connecting thousands of followers all over the world who have been moved by its story.
Mitchell has exhibited internationally in museums, galleries and institutions and been featured in many of the world’s leading press. The Wonderland series is currently touring as a major exhibition for Fotografiska’s museums in Stockholm, Tallinn, and New York.
Since the completion of Wonderland Kirsty has led an increasing private life due to the birth of her son on Christmas Eve 2015, which was then followed by her breast cancer diagnosis 8 months later. The years of 2016-2018 were an extremely difficult time, which have in turn inspired the story for her next highly anticipated project due for launch by the end of 2022.
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entry description
The picture wasn't planned at all, I had gone to France with some friends who were creating a fashion shoot experience in a huge French Chateau. The days were filled with models rushing between set ups, whilst I helped out making some of the dresses and sometimes walking alone in the gardens.Minna was the stylist for the week and on the last day when the chaos was finally ending, I asked if she'd let me take her portrait in my bedroom.
I scooped duckweed from the lake in the grounds and gathered a mix of living and dying hydrangeas. We sat together in the afternoon half light of my room, whilst she patiently let me wipe the vivid green over her face and body and wrap her waist with fragile pieces of antique Japanese embroidery that I'd brought from home. My dear friend Elbie painted Minna's lips a dark blood burgundy and within an hour the light was gone and the picture taken.
about the photographer
Kirsty Mitchell is an award-winning fine art photographer from Surrey, England. Between 2009 and 2014 she created a deeply personal photographic series entitled Wonderland, dedicated to her mother, an English teacher, who passed away from a brain tumor in 2008.Inspired by her mother’s passion for literature and the fairy tales they shared, Mitchell embarked on a journey of self healing through the lens; describing photography as becoming both an obsession and a way to process the overwhelming grief she experienced in the years that followed. Mitchell drew on her past careers in fashion design and costume making, to produce images of beguiling dream-like worlds. She would spend months meticulously handcrafting her character’s costumes and props to compose and then photograph in all weathers, out in the ancient woodlands that surrounded her home.
In September 2015 The artist’s five-year journey culminated in the extraordinary book Wonderland, documenting all seventy-four photographs in the collection; as well as containing her highly emotional journal written throughout it’s creation. To this day, it remains the most successful photography book in crowdfunding history, connecting thousands of followers all over the world who have been moved by its story.
Mitchell has exhibited internationally in museums, galleries and institutions and been featured in many of the world’s leading press. The Wonderland series is currently touring as a major exhibition for Fotografiska’s museums in Stockholm, Tallinn, and New York.
Since the completion of Wonderland Kirsty has led an increasing private life due to the birth of her son on Christmas Eve 2015, which was then followed by her breast cancer diagnosis 8 months later. The years of 2016-2018 were an extremely difficult time, which have in turn inspired the story for her next highly anticipated project due for launch by the end of 2022.
back to gallery