Looking for Ophelia: an illustrated, visual and sensual exploration of the Hogsmill river (original) (raw)

2016

Abstract

The Hogsmill, a tributary of the Thames and now one of London’s lost rivers was used as the rural setting for J.E Millais' painting Ophelia. Recent research by a local historian has revealed the exact location, co-incidentally very near to my own home, used by the artist who worked on location over a five month period. Poignantly, the painting is known for its depiction of the detailed flora of the river and the riverbank, stressing the patterns of growth and decay in a natural ecosystem. The dying figure of Ophelia as the vulnerable woman is a popular subject in pre-Raphaelite paintings, echoing the vulnerability of the local natural history of its setting, surrounded as it is now by suburban housing, increasing traffic and pollution. Nature is so evocative of the human condition. The paper will present a new illustrated work exploring the beauty and fragility of nature within suburban environments, bringing the overlooked and unnoticed to the attention of the audience both vis...

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