Past Exhibition: Dickens and His Friends
2024-09-17 08:00 - 17:00 UTC
Close up portraits of great men by Julia Margaret Cameron curated by her son, Henry Herschel Hay Cameron and friends of Charles Dickens.
Dickens and His Friends is a refreshed exhibition focussing on the friends of Charles Dickens and photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron. The selection was chosen to complement the exhibition Technicolour Dickens: The living image of Dickens, also showing here at Dimbola. Printed in large format, these images demonstrate Julia’s genius for photographing genius.
During her lifetime trailblazing photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron produced over 900 images. The range of her work was diverse from Pre-Raphaelite inspired tableaus to portraits. The images, many taken in her converted hen house on the Isle of Wight, were of leading Victorian stars: Tennyson, Herschel, Darwin, Browning and Carlyle.
Originally these images formed part of an exhibition curated by Julia’s son, Henry Herschel Hay Cameron and features one of Henry’s portraits, actor Henry Irving.
This first exhibition was inspired by a letter written to his mother by F D Maurice, the founder of Christian socialism, in which he praised her photographs of Alfred Lord Tennyson, saying, “Had we such portraits of Shakespeare and Milton, we should know more of their own selves.” Maurice had keenly seen the double-vision in Julia’s work, how she revealed not just a physical portrait but a spiritual narrative; a blended alchemy which provided insight into the subject’s very nature. Henry felt the truth of Maurice’s words and his edit of his mother’s work gives us an extraordinary insight into the singular and spiritual nature of Julia’s portraits. Julia sought to arrest much more than a facsimile, she conjured from the shadows and light an illuminated ‘other dimension, elevating photography into fine art. This process is best described in Julia’s own words:
“When I have had these men before my camera my whole soul has endeavoured to do its duty towards them in recording faithfully the greatness of the inner as well as the features of the outer man: The photograph thus taken has been almost the embodiment of a prayer.”
Dickens and His Friends captures the true essence of Julia’s portrait work where its composition, intimacy, lighting, exposure and styling was simply unlike anything seen before. In addition, her subjects were great thinkers, scientists and artists, as a result we have a body of astonishing images of exceptional people who have shaped our civilisation – many of whom were not only Dickens’ contemporaries, but also his friends too.

Dave Shrimpton: Searching for Alice
2024-10-05 - 2025-01-01
Dave Shrimpton is a wet plate collodion photographer who uses vintage cameras to produce his art. He cites the work of Julia Margaret Cameron as his inspiration and says that upon viewing his first Cameron exhibition his “world changed for ever”.
This exhibition is entitled “Searching for Alice” and uses the image of Alice Liddell, photographed by and friend of Julia Margaret Cameron, as its point of departure. Being drawn into the world of Mrs Cameron through his own Muse, Catarina Correia, Dave’s work seeks to explore the results of the often unpredictable and unique wet collodion process.
He is thrilled to be displaying such a large body of his work in one place with many images not previously seen by a public audience. Dave will further follow in the creative footsteps of Mrs Cameron by photographing the current museum staff. The sitters for many of her iconic photographs were actually servants within the household staff at Dimbola. These priceless wet plates taken by Dave will form a further element to this already exciting and dynamic exhibition.

Lee Miller: Style is Strength
2025-02-01 - 2025-05-18
1st February – 18th May
Fashion photographer Lee Miller captured the essence of women for magazines such as British and American Vogue.Living in war time Britain, she turned her talents towards documenting the experience of women during the passage of World War II.On loan from Farley’s House, Miller’s post-war Sussex home, this exhibition shows wartime women as they have never been seen before.
Of the photographs in the collection, some evoke the urgency and resourcefulness of wartime Britain without being too explicit.In others, though, Miller does not disguise the wartime context of her work: defiantly, models pose in front of the destruction inflicted by the devastating bombing raids of the Blitz.
In her piece ‘Check Mate’, distributed in British Vogue in 1943, Miller drew attention to the difficulties of publishing colour photography in wartime. Through ‘Hats Assignment’, she urged the public to fight the war with fashion.
The Lee Miller collection on display at Dimbola until the 18th May showcases examples of her work from 1940-1944, demonstrating the attitudes of women during WWII. Brought together, Miller’s work will show how these women would not bow down to the harsh realities of war, striving instead to maintain their feminine strength with pride.

Marco Sanges: One Step Closer
2025-02-01 - 2025-05-18
1st February – 18th May 2025
One Step Closer by photographer Marco Sanges marks his exhibitionary debut at Dimbola.
The exhibition is on display alongside the work by legendary photographer, Lee Miller. While their work stands eight decades apart, both Miller and Sanges hold unique balances in their prolific portfolios between stunning portraiture and capturing moments of extreme crisis.
On having his work displayed at Dimbola, Sanges expressed, “Creating this project was a deeply spiritual experience comprised of intense emotions that were as contrastingly dark and light as the portraits themselves. I am honoured to see this new work alongside Lee Miller’s, as our work runs in several parallels – both analogue photography with a similar language that emphasizes the noir beauty of black and white photography.”
One Step Closer uses the power of art and storytelling to enact change through an intimate series of portraits that capture paragons of film, theatre, music, and literature. Some of the project’s participants include Bob Geldof, Elizabeth McGovern, Jeremy Irons, Brian Cox, Gyles Brandreth, and Clare Balding. While resulting in dramatic, narrative-based imagery, the true aim of this initiative is to raise funds via auction for Under One Sky, a London-based not-for-profit charity to set up to support the homeless community.As Sanges’ subjects take one step closer to the camera, proceeds will help bring us all one step closer to ending homelessness.
Julian Bell, President of Dimbola, and Brian Hinton, the museum’s Director, have expressed great excitement for this display. Bell describes Sanges’ images as “…collaborations in which the subject and the artist lean in together – closer and closer – to visualise that flame of fantasy within. The results are by turns rapturous, hilarious and scary: often, of their nature, wildly melodramatic; in every case, imprinted with the uniqueness of the sitter.” Bell and Hinton specialise in curating the best work at Dimbola, maintaining the integrity and prestige of the museum’s catalogue to honour the memory of Julia Margaret Cameron, a Victorian photography pioneer and former resident of the museum’s site.
This collaborative exhibit runs until 18 May, 2025.

Kathleen Holloway: Sea Change
2025-05-25 10:00 - 2025-09-07 16:00
Kathleen Holloway is a multi-genre photographer whose images range from street photography, still life, and photo abstractions. She has studied at The International Center of Photography and Penumbra Foundation, both in New York City, as well as The Art Institute of Seattle in Washington state.
After graduating, she pursued a career as a photo editor in publishing and the entertainment industry. With an over 20 year career of hiring photographers, producing photo shoots and as a retoucher, Kathleen has moved on to the next phase of her career, showing her own work. Recent solo exhibitions include Gallery 178 and The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in 2023 both in Manhattan. Her work was also featured in NoMAA Women in the Heights: Dress at the NoMAA Gallery, New York, was a selection for the 19th National Photography Competition at Fotofoto Gallery, in Huntington, NY, and featured in the 20th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for Women in Photography held at FotoNostrum Mediterranean House of Photography, in Barcelona, Spain. She is also a member of Soho Photo Gallery in New York City.
“I’ve always had a love for art and photography, since my father taught me the basics on his Pentax K1000 when I was a child. His experience and passion as a commercial artist encouraged me as I took my first steps to becoming a photographer.
Over the last few years I have started experimenting with panoramic 35mm and medium format film photography and exploring historical printing techniques like cyanotype and platinum/palladium. I am continually interested in learning new ways to capture the world around us.”
Sea Change is a personal photo project inspired by her father-in-law’s love of sailing and his struggle with dementia. Photographing nautical items like fishing nets, stony beaches, and weathered ropes from around the shores of Britain, she reflects each frame back to itself to reimagine patterns, textures, and colours making the familiar seem unfamiliar.

Sheila Rock: Punk +
2025-05-25 10:00 - 2025-09-07 16:00
We are proud to present PUNK + a compelling exhibition showcasing a retrospective by acclaimed photographer Sheila Rock. From the raw energy of 1970s punk, with iconic images of The Clash, Siouxsie Sioux, and Billy Idol, to the polished pop aesthetics of the 1980s music scene. Also accompanying the exhibition are a selection of photographic portraits from the series entitled Tough and Tender, that were made in seaside towns around England. Although initially interested in the aesthetics of seascapes when starting on this series, Rock’s dignified and stoic portraits reflect a quiet politics, documenting subjects and environments on the economic margins of the early 21st Century.
Sheila Rock came to the UK from America in 1970, and began a series of successful careers; firstly as a primary documenter of the punk era, then as a successful commercial photographer in advertising and editorial and more recently as the author of photographic books featuring works of her own private passions. The Face magazine launched her career, and she later contributed to a variety of diverse titles including German Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Architectural Digest, Sunday Times, Telegraph Magazine, Brides, Time Magazine and Rolling Stone Magazine. Her book PUNK +, published in 2013, is a document of the London 1970s punk scene that was also accompanied by a series of exhibitions in London, Paris and Berlin and later, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Her book Tough & Tender is a delicate and sensitive report from the English seaside and 80s SOUND AND VISION published in 2022 is an overview of youth culture in the 80s featuring photographs from her days shooting for THE FACE magazine.
Her books Tough & Tender, Young Punks and 80s Sounds and Vision will be available to purchase from the Dimbola gift shop. A selection of prints will also be available to purchase.
sheilarock.com
Instagram
The exhibition runs until the 7th September.

David Tunnicliffe:The Road to Palmyra & Travels with a Tangerine
2025-09-13 10:00 - 2026-01-01 16:00
We are proud to present two stunning exhibitions by David Tunnicliffe, showcasing black and white photographs taken during his travels in the Middle East. In a career spanning over forty years, David’s work as a diplomat and an academic took him to the far corners of the earth, giving him access to unique photographic opportunities denied to many.
The Road to Palmyra
David’s striking images of Palmyra were taken during a visit to Syria in 1993, making them a crucial document in preserving the history of one of the “seven wonders of the Middle East”, and showcasing the magnificence and beauty of this grand city in the desert. In the 1st century BCE, the oasis city of Palmyra, in the centre of modern Syria, was on the main trade route between the Levant and Mesopotamia. Palmyra was incorporated into the Roman Empire during the reign of Tiberius, eventually becoming a luxurious stop and trading station on the Silk Road. In the 20th century, the ruins of ancient Palmyra were carefully preserved and restored, becoming a favoured destination for modern explorers and seasoned travellers, away from the beaten track of the tourist trail. Tragically, in 2015 the city became the target of ISIS, who decimated the ancient towers, museums and theatres, turning them to rubble, and killing the proud custodians of the city, increasing the importance of David’s images as a lasting reminder of what has been lost.
Travels With A Tangerine
Taking his inspiration from Ibn Battuta, a 14th century traveller, David began his worldwide travels in India in 1967, taking his camera to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, capturing his own photographic record of the places he visited and the people he met. Ibn Battuta was a Magrebhi scholar, who began a 30 year spiritual journey in 1325, covering over 75,000 miles, and recording his experiences in a travel memoir known as the Rihla.Ibn Battuta’s Rihla remains a leading source of contemporary knowledge about the areas he visited, and today his memory is still honoured in the name of modern-day Tangier’s international airport. This beautiful and powerful exhibition represents a mere fraction of the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of images taken by David during his own Rihla, with the title of the exhibition playfully referring to Ibn Battuta’s Moroccan origins.
About the photographer
In a career spanning more than 30 years his photographic archive holds a vast collection of images from almost every corner of the world. His experience in the diplomatic, commercial and academic worlds have given him unique access to photographic opportunities denied to many. He has taught photography in Ethiopia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Egypt and in the UK and has a wealth of experience working with museums and international universities on everything from Third Century BC artifacts in Egypt and Neolithic Man in Somalia to reclaiming photographic prints from WWII in Australia.

davidtunnicliffephotography.co.uk
