Sophie
Standford
About
A Rural Idyll
In the Forest Garden
Inner Landscapes
Absent Presence
Trace
On paper
In sound

@hortus_silvam
Trace; hommage to Bonnard

Transience; Nude in an Interior




16mm colour/black and white film with stereo sound, 1998
edit to HD video, 2025
16mm camera: Jesse Chambers
Residence: 10 days
Location: 35 Beulah Hill, London

Resident for 10 days in this empty Victorian house awaiting development at the Spa not far from the site of the Crystal Palace in London. I made a huge crinoline-structure costume and blindfolded my sight to ensnare my body and hinder my blundering movements as I roamed from room to room. With my sight denied, I submitted to a heightened awareness of sound which guided my movements. I made audio recordings of my presence in the house to capture my presence and absence from the empty rooms. 
Jesse Chambers helped to capture my aimless wandering on 16mm film.

the garden is a wilderness reminiscent of sweet smelling fruits and flowers
inside were vast, empty, fin de siècle rooms, echoing
windows stretching to the ceiling
architectural details drably adapted to the demands of modern living
thick dust, thick spider webs clinging to disuse
a vast regal stairwell
numbered doors in the upper rooms
light streaming in and penetrating the dark warren interior
distinct servant quarters listening behind doors
breathlessly up three floors to the roof
an audible voice, listening
© Sophie Standford, 2025
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