Documentary and fashion photographer Matilda Temperley is turning her camera towards home for a new commission to discover and document Somerset today.
In this personal reflection Matilda will explore the people and places of her beloved native Somerset.
Matilda has received the exciting new commission from the South West Heritage Trust ahead of an exhibition to showcase the works in winter 2018/19. ‘Matilda Temperley: My Somerset’ will open in December 2018 at Somerset Rural Life Museum, in Glastonbury, close to where Matilda grew up and now lives.
To coincide with the exhibition Matilda is publishing a book of the photographs and stories behind the images. With brother Henry Temperley, and sister-in-law Lara Stower, Matilda is also working on a documentary of Somerset to be premiered at the Museum in the new year.
Matilda’s Photography
Matilda’s photography is diverse and includes fashion and documentary work. Her work regularly appears in international publications such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, Harpers Bazaar and National Geographic.
Matilda is passionate about her documentary projects, many of which explore the experience of marginalised communities. These include diverse subjects such as the UK’s last lion tamer, human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley and the Somerset Floods.
Her sell out book, Under The Surface—Somerset Floods won the Royal Photographic Society’s Vic Odden Award in 2015. Matilda published the book in response to the winter floods of 2013-14 which severely impacted her family and the community where she grew up.
Somerset Roots
Matilda grew up on a farm on the Somerset Levels with her three siblings – Alice, Mary and Henry. Set amongst 180 acres of cider apple orchards, at the base of Burrow Hill, the farm is now famously the home of Somerset Cider Brandy and Burrow Hill Cider.
Matilda went to a local Somerset school, going on to study biology at Edinburgh University, after which she completed an MSc in the control of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
After working in the field in East Africa Matilda returned to the UK where she pursued a career in photography. Having honed her technical skills in a London studio Matilda returned to African to begin her first documentary project.
Matilda lives on the Somerset Levels.
Follow the Project
Matilda is sharing photos and extracts from the project on Instagram.
Follow Matilda on Instagram @MatildaTemperley #srlmmatildatemperley #srlm #somersetrurallifemuseum
For more about Matilda’s work you can also visit matildatemperley.com
Somerset Rural Life Museum
Somerset Rural Life Museum, in Glastonbury, is a place to discover Somerset’s landscape, food and farming heritage, and rural crafts.
Follow the museum on Instagram @somerset_museums
‘Matilda Temperley: My Somerset’ opens 15 December 2018 and will run until 1 June 2019.