Shades of Tyrian

Shades of Tyrian is a series of photographs created during a residency at Clarendon House in late June, 2017.

Tyrian refers to the shade of purple dye used in the dining room wallpaper of Clarendon House. Used as a display of wealth, it was made by crushing and boiling seashells to release their colour.

Arriving for the first time at Clarendon during the coldness of Winter, I was struck by a lingering and visceral sense of presence and absence. The presence of the stately house contrasted by the absence of long departed family.

As notions of beauty, yearning and connection to the landscape are referenced against the colonial landscape painter John Glover’s artwork, Swilker Oak, shadows of our Colonial past are evoked within the landscape.  The presence of the gnarly Elms that cover the property seemed to bare witness to history; the absence of leaves exposing the cold landscape in a stripped back form, instead of filtering the light as they do so gently in the milder months.

Andrew Walton produced a beautiful insight video into the exhibition at Clarendon House.