Week 1 - Sian Davey's The Garden Exhibition

The Garden

Davey's approach to The Garden was to cultivate a space filled with color and vibrancy, embracing biodiversity and connectedness. She seemed to be focused heavily on using her subjects and settings to create a sense of community and familiarity against the backdrop of the expansive greenery of the garden. Davey's photographs the subject in the center of the frame, oftentimes at eye level or from a top down angle. The subjects in her photos seem to be relaxed, as she is simply capturing them as they are in the garden. In terms of lighting, Davey seems to have used the natural sunlight of the garden, oftentimes with shadows being cast onto the subject or background. Davey uses color effectively, with the subjects clothes or items contrasting the greenery of the landscape.

Sian Davey, The Garden, Woman Laying In Flowers, 2023

In the photo pictured above, a woman is surrounded by flowers and plants while laying in the garden. She is wearing a light pink dressed and has her arms crossed as she lays in the bed of flowers. She seems to be relaxed, but also somewhat pensive as her gaze is directed towards the plants in front of her and not at the camera. The flowers in the immediate foreground are slightly out of focus while the woman and the flowers surrounding her are in focus. Color and contrast are used heavily in this photograph, as the many different colors of flowers and the color of the woman's dress contrast nicely against the green of the garden backdrop. As a result of the vibrant colors there is a lot going on visually, however the woman is at peace laying within the flowers. She is framed in the bottom left area of the frame, and would seemingly blend in with the surrounding plants if not for her pink dress. The woman is almost completely enveloped within the surrounding flora, but still is laying in a peaceful position with her arms crossed. As a result, the message of this photo to me is finding the beauty and peace within natures vibrant, colorful, and abundant backdrop. As a viewer, you do not need much additional information to take away a message from this photo as it evokes a somewhat universal feeling of feeling at peace being surrounded by nature.

Sian Davey, The Garden, Girl with Red Sweater Sitting in Chair, 2023

In the photo above, a girl wearing a red sweater is seated in an olive and brown armchair in a clearing in the garden. She is sitting in a relaxed position, with her eyes directed at the camera. The flowers in the immediate foreground are out of focus and blocking the girl in the chair from being seen with a clear view. This photo contains many vibrant colors, with the stark red of the girl's sweater dominating the color of the middle of the frame. The rest of the frame contains bright yellows and floral purples, and with the red sweater, contrast the somewhat full green background. The girl is looking somewhat intently while also seeming relaxed and unbothered by the flowers blocking her view. Davey shot the subject from a slight top down angle, with the girl looking up slightly at the camera. As a viewer I get the feeling that the girl in the chair is photographed as she was in the garden, relaxed and taking in the flora surrounding her. I find Davey's choice of framing the subject in a way in which the flowers are obstructing her to be interesting. This gives the effect of concealing the girls identity somewhat, leaving behind a somewhat mysterious tone of what the girl is thinking of and doing in the garden. The girl is somewhat slouched in the armchair, underscoring the theme of casual relaxation against the backdrop of vibrant and abundant nature.