An exciting addition to the Historic Print and Photograph Collection at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre has been a collection of seven photographic prints by the talented Marlborough based photographer Mark Somerville.

This striking image ‘Pastoral Sanctuary’ of the bluebells in West Woods by Mark Somerville captured the attention of visitors at a recent display with its different approach to perspective.

Mark runs a well-established commercial photography practice, but also has an active interest in fine art photography. The acquisitions relate to a set of images he was working on in 2006, looking at the Wiltshire landscape from a different perspective: positive becoming negative; of images the same and yet reversed; the everyday becoming symbolic. His publication Natural and Enforced Forms, 2010, includes a number of the images, a copy of which is available to view at the History Centre, ref: ZSO.770.

 

The image ‘Landscape Eclipsed’ made such an impression on John Richardson that it became the inspiration for his poem, entitled ‘A temporary embarrassment of wonder’ which contains the line…”Here in the Wiltshire field a night black disc sits silent still…”

The images are printed on giclée  paper, and the colour Mark produces is truly stunning. He has also been very supportive of the Creative Wiltshire project, donating one of his images free of charge.

Mark describes his fine art photography as ‘distilling the subject back to its bare bones of colour and structure’ and his current work is now moving away from representative imagery towards more abstract depictions.

More information about Mark’s images can be found on his website http://www.marksomerville.net/

Julie Davis

Project Officer