Easter Sunday

2007

Easter Sunday was first shown at Keith Talent Gallery in a solo show in 2007. It was shot at Kew Gardens and shows the petting stall for the giant German rabbits. It was the rabbits that drew me to Kew on Easter Sunday. I’d been photographing animals in the landscape, and was interested to see the rabbits in the city. I was struck by the queues and it was a squeeze to get in position to photograph, from the edge. After, looking at the photograph, I notice the position and pose of the two young children and the keeper of the rabbit and found something close, intense, and slightly threatening about the encounter and where their gaze met. This was a transaction, money in the Bell’s Whisky bottle to stroke the rabbit (rotated with others resting in the tent behind). There is something felt through the images, the touch of the child’s hand to the rabbit, and something held back, in the absence of smiles.

Installation shot 'Melanie Stidolph: New Work', Keith Talent Gallery, 2007

Installation shot 'Melanie Stidolph: New Work', Keith Talent Gallery, 2007

Installation shot 'Melanie Stidolph: New Work', Keith Talent Gallery, 2007