Join us for the launch of Frances Mason's "Graham's Garden"

“From my very first visit to The Italian Garden at Great Ambrook I was haunted by the elements beneath the surface. While the garden volunteers unearthed buried plants and ancient pathways, I sketched, and felt the presence of the people who had shared this magical space over a century ago. It was as if the garden was disclosing its secrets.

‘Passage of time has left its mark on the physical nature of the garden leaving the sense that past occupants and events are somehow etched into its fabric shrouded by the process of growth and decay, images just waiting to be resurrected.’ I felt I was drawing back into time to the world of the young Arthur Smith Graham, who created the garden. A world of great literature and art, love of beauty and decadence but also a time of fear, prejudice, social inequality and approaching war. The impact of Oscar Wilde’s trial and imprisonment in 1895 lingered on in a climate that must have influenced Graham’s request that his documents and photographs were destroyed at his death. The resulting absence of words left a space for imagination. The more I drew the more I knew there was a visual narrative waiting to be revealed. I decided the story of “Graham’s Garden” would be my final project for my master’s degree in illustration. As Oscar Wilde, whose impression was everywhere during this project said, ‘To look at a thing is very different to seeing it.’”

About the Evening

Our Artist Previews are a great chance to meet the artists, experience our exhibitions and enjoy a relaxed social evening in our venues. The events are free and open to all with the option to make a voluntary donation to support our work if you wish.