The Manger, the White Horse of Uffington from the Ridgeway
Characteristic of her landscape work, none of the photographs by Fay Godwin within The Women’s Art Collection feature human figures. Yet, later in life Godwin rejected the term ‘landscape photographer’, insisting instead on ‘documentary photographer’. If this is to be the case, Black Sky at Callanish, Lewis (1980) and The Manger, the White Horse of Uffington from the Ridgeway (1981) document the mysterious traces of ancient civilisations. Callanish is an arrangement of standing stones, and the White Horse of Uffington is formed from deep trenches filled with white chalk in Oxfordshire. Both ancient monuments – Callanish dating to 2900–2600 BC and the White Horse 1380-550 BCE – are captured in ways that conceal those centuries between construction and the present.
In contrast, Four Trees, Rannoch Moor (1981) and Copper Beech, Stourhead, Wiltshire (1983) lack traces of a human past or present. Rannoch Moor in western Scotland is known for its wilderness. Its many peat deposits, bogs, lochs, and streams make it difficult to construct roads and railways. The resultant Four Trees, Rannoch Moor captures this hinterland in its dramatic isolation. The wide valley is exposed to the elements, including a brooding storm cloud in the right-hand corner. In contrast, Copper Beech, Stourhead, Wiltshire is nature enclosed – a pictorial depth created by positioning the branches at the forefront of the composition. Wavering branches hover mid-air, tickling the still water below.
These four photographs are part of the ‘Land’ (1985) series by the artist, which formed both a book and exhibition of the same name. A major award from the Arts Council in 1978 helped to support the making of this series.
