Looking through the files associated with my ancient Downward Skies project [1] – I was putting something together to add to the new improved webpage – I saw these three photographs from Mottisfont Abbey, taken in November 2006, more or less in a row as you see them here. It was obvious that they would form a rather nice, deceptive triptych.
In case it's not clear at this size (the actual thing would be 62cm x 21 cm at 300 ppi), the leftmost image shows a thick ring of crab-apples around the base of a tree which stands on a circular bed cut into the lawn. The bed is noticeably convex, so, simply as a result of doing what comes naturally, the fallen apples roll out to the perimeter, hit the edged lawn, and stay there. It's more obvious in colour, of course.
Colour adds a dimension to the statuary, as well: I quite like this alternative version, which is is more "natural" looking at first glance, but equally deceptive, in an almost cubist kind of way. I've weirded the colour palette a bit (that's a technical term), just to add to the disorientating atmosphere. In case you were wondering, those are "terms" or "herms", a sanitized version of ancient Greek boundary markers that you often come across in the grounds of grand houses. The ones at Mottisfont have particularly daft faces, which I like very much.
1. If you've never seen it, I'm still quite proud of my Colour of the Water project and the resulting Downward Skies book. It was the first time I'd put that sort of effort into book design, and it probably shows, in both good and bad ways.
2 comments:
The smiling ones make me want to leave in a hurry. That's creepy!
Aren't they strange? Given the high standard of pre-20th century sculptural realism, you have to imagine they were either made to look deliberately odd, or that the sculptor was high as a kite on some opioid. That, or they've been restored by some cack-handed amateur.
Now I've rediscovered them I may well do something more interesting with them.
Mike
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