About This Event
Saturday, September 5, 2–4pm The Botanical Lens: from contact print to contemporary environmental investigations -researching the in-between. Presented by Liz Wells
As part of programming related to the exhibition Explorations in the Ecotone, VSW welcomes renowned British photography scholar and theorist, Liz Wells to present a talk on her recent research on Botanical photography. Wells’s research on photographic culture focuses on land, landscape, place, and environment, as well as on photographic theory and practices. She is the author of Land Matters (Routledge, 2011) and is the editor of numerous textbooks on the history and criticism of photography.
Little has been written about histories of botanical photography aside from in terms of art and aesthetics. This talk centers on historical uses of photography within botanical explorations and documentation. When, why and under what circumstances did the camera come to supplement or substitute for botanical drawing? Plates and prints, if they still exist, are dispersed across various types of collection, from botanical centres and historic homes to medical institutions, local and national libraries, and photo museums, making research into these materials challenging. In her talk, Wells will reference Seedscapes:Future-Proofing Nature (UK tour 2020/21), and her current research into botanical photography within British colonialism in South Asia.
Liz Wells, writer and curator, is Professor Emeritus in Photographic Culture, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business. Solo publications include Photography, Curation, Criticism, an anthology (2023) and Land Matters: landscape photography, culture and identity, (2011/2021). She edited The Photography Reader
(2019) and The Photography Culture Reader (2019) and Photography: A Critical Introduction (2021, 6 th ed.,7 th ed. forthcoming 2026) She was a founding co-editor for photographies, Routledge journals and series editor for Photography, Place, Environment, Routledge Academic Publications, and has contributed many essays within artist books, exhibition catalogues, journals and other edited collections.
Exhibitions as curator include Sea, Sand and Soil: Plastics in our Environment (Pingyao International Photography Festival, China, 2021); Seedscapes: Future-Proofing Nature (Impressions Gallery, Bradford, Yorks, 2020; UK tour 2021); Layers of Visibility, (Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Cyprus, 2018/9; co-curator, Yiannis Toumazis); Light Touch, (Baltimore Washington International Airport, 2014). She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2017; Honored Educator, Society for Photographic Education, 2021; and, in 2022, The Royal Photographic Society, J Dudley Johnston Award for research in photographic culture. She is British, based in Devon, UK. www. lizwellswriter-curator.co.uk
About This Event
Saturday, September 5, 2–4pm The Botanical Lens: from contact print to contemporary environmental investigations -researching the in-between. Presented by Liz Wells
As part of programming related to the exhibition Explorations in the Ecotone, VSW welcomes renowned British photography scholar and theorist, Liz Wells to present a talk on her recent research on Botanical photography. Wells’s research on photographic culture focuses on land, landscape, place, and environment, as well as on photographic theory and practices. She is the author of Land Matters (Routledge, 2011) and is the editor of numerous textbooks on the history and criticism of photography.
Little has been written about histories of botanical photography aside from in terms of art and aesthetics. This talk centers on historical uses of photography within botanical explorations and documentation. When, why and under what circumstances did the camera come to supplement or substitute for botanical drawing? Plates and prints, if they still exist, are dispersed across various types of collection, from botanical centres and historic homes to medical institutions, local and national libraries, and photo museums, making research into these materials challenging. In her talk, Wells will reference Seedscapes:Future-Proofing Nature (UK tour 2020/21), and her current research into botanical photography within British colonialism in South Asia.
Liz Wells, writer and curator, is Professor Emeritus in Photographic Culture, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business. Solo publications include Photography, Curation, Criticism, an anthology (2023) and Land Matters: landscape photography, culture and identity, (2011/2021). She edited The Photography Reader
(2019) and The Photography Culture Reader (2019) and Photography: A Critical Introduction (2021, 6 th ed.,7 th ed. forthcoming 2026) She was a founding co-editor for photographies, Routledge journals and series editor for Photography, Place, Environment, Routledge Academic Publications, and has contributed many essays within artist books, exhibition catalogues, journals and other edited collections.
Exhibitions as curator include Sea, Sand and Soil: Plastics in our Environment (Pingyao International Photography Festival, China, 2021); Seedscapes: Future-Proofing Nature (Impressions Gallery, Bradford, Yorks, 2020; UK tour 2021); Layers of Visibility, (Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Cyprus, 2018/9; co-curator, Yiannis Toumazis); Light Touch, (Baltimore Washington International Airport, 2014). She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2017; Honored Educator, Society for Photographic Education, 2021; and, in 2022, The Royal Photographic Society, J Dudley Johnston Award for research in photographic culture. She is British, based in Devon, UK. www. lizwellswriter-curator.co.uk