Sophie Maree Gallery Solo Show

10 January - 28 February 2015

STARY NIGHT REVISITED.

Solo Exhibition of new photographic work by Ellie Davies at the Sophie Maree Gallery in the Netherlands.

STARRY NIGHT REVISITED.

Sophie Maree Gallery is proud to present our exhibition with new works by photographer Ellie Davies (1976). In her most recent series Stars (2014), Davies aims to create a deeper understanding of human relations with nature in a modern and technologized world. In her work, Davies wants to present this relationship and encourage the viewers to re-evaluate the way nature has played a part in the construction of their own identity. In her photographs, Davies has made use of extraordinary imageries to convey unto the viewer a sense of mystery, enchantment and discovery. In this series, images of forest landscapes are combined with images of the intangible and enigmatic universe, using scientific images captured by the Hubble telescope, such as the Milky Way and the Norma Galaxy. The incorporation of the galactic images into the familiar forest landscapes creates a feeling of paradox and otherness, combining the physicality and familiarity of the landscapes with the intangible ‘unknown’ of the universe. Using her personal experience of the forest as a starting point, Davies creates an imagery that is strange but familiar and at the same time hauntingly beautiful. The viewer is drawn into an image that both attracts him to the landscape as well as alienates him.

Davies has a background in sculpting but turned to photography in her search for a profound personal interaction with her work and her surroundings. Central in Davies’ work is the ambiguous relationship between nature (in particular, the forest) and human interference in nature. Armed with her camera, step-ladder and tripod, Davies wanders deep into the forest to create a work that comes to life through a creative process derived from the interaction between the camera and the forest itself. Using the woods as a ‘stage set’ in which human interpretation is integrated, Davies’ works are an ode to the complex interrelationship between nature and human civilization.

Davies’ landscape-based photographs are held in private collections, exhibited worldwide and shown in multiple solo-shows such as ‘Into the Woods’ at the Richard Young Gallery in London (2012). In August 2014 Davies was awarded First Place in the 2014 Kontinent Awards in the Fine Art Projects Category. She also contributed to several book publications, for example WUD: Four Walks in the Fictional Woods, a limited-edition hardcover Photobook published by Tangerine Press in December 2012 and Behind the Image By Natasha Caruana and Anna Fox, 2012.

Gallery information:
Sophie Maree Gallery is situated at the charismatic pier of the harbour in the nautical heart of Scheveningen.  The gallery has put photography and design on the international map because its distinctive character and high-standard quality. A variety of national and international artists are already represented by Sophie Maree.

Sophie Maree Gallery.

Hellingweg 96D,2583WH Den Haag, The Netherlands.

http://sophie-maree.com/portfolio-item/ellie-davies/ 

T: 070 30 60 681     E: info@sophie-maree.com