In Conversation With: Kate Friend
As Chosen By
A photographic exhibition in the Tithe Barn
Friday 8th April 2022 to TUESday 25th October 2022
AS CHOSEN BY is a series of photographic portraits. The sitters are flowers, chosen by recognisable public figures. The result is a single flower and vessel, chosen by the sitter and shot in natural light at their home, studio, or garden. These are portraits without people and although there is no obvious human likeness, there is an undeniable humanity in each of Friend’s photographs. Although her methodology is concise and consistent, the variety of images is testament to the array of unique personalities she has included in the project.
The current exhibition roughly marks the halfway point of this project, which will eventually culminate in a larger show and a comprehensive book that will include the many behind the scenes images taken by Friend throughout her process.
Kate shoots exclusively on film, both medium and large format. The final prints are fine art C-types, made using a unique museum-grade printing process, exposing light onto colour paper. The print is then developed and hand-washed using traditional photographic techniques. Here Kate offers her answers to questions about her works and career.
What do you think your botanical portraits say about the person who chose them?
I leave that up to the viewer to decide. I believe there are 3 separate exchanges - firstly between the sitter and the flower, secondly between the flower and myself, and thirdly between the portrait and the viewer.
Where did the idea for this series first stem (excuse the pun!) from?
I had worked on a series of botanical portraits with gardeners in the UK, photographing flowers chosen by gardeners at some of the UK’s greatest gardens. This was exhibited at the Garden Museum. I was drawn to the significance we bestow upon plants and so it was a progression to think in a broader way about how people relate to flowers.
How do you choose who your sitters are?
It’s a fluid process. Sometimes it’s someone I’d like to meet and talk to, someone who’s work I enjoy, someone that feels disruptive or contemporary, or someone with an aesthetic or life path that I’m curious about.
Duncan Grant, Hollyhock by Kate Friend
Charlie McCormik Dahlia, by Kate Friend
Jeremy Lee, Hellebore, by Kate Friend
Has photography always been your calling?
I think movement and places have really been my main calling, and photography has taken me to some extraordinary places. Traditional photography and printing is always a miraculous process, it never gets old. Colour is a language I understand and my work is an exploration of this.
If you were the sitter, are we allowed to ask what your flower would be?
The more I do these works the harder it becomes to answer that…
You chose to capture the flowers with a minimal, ‘colour block’ backdrop, what was the reasoning behind this?
I am looking to isolate the stem, to focus in on one plant with no distraction. Negative space is how I explore form and structure, so the background is an important part of the process. I use colour like paint - experimenting with which colours bring forward the flower’s characteristics, and with that maybe something about the sitter is communicated also.
Daylight changes will affect the colour differently each time, so I use some intuition and some risk to set upon which colour to use. I enjoy the gamble of it - wondering whether my choices will turn out how I expect.
We are very excited for your collection to be exhibited at Thyme. What do you feel about Thyme as a place that resonates with your work?
Thyme’s emphasis on connection to the land is a natural fit for a body of work that explores how we connect to plants and weave them into our personal stories. This is the first time the work has been shown outside of London. The viewer can walk from the meadow straight into the gallery, and this brings the works to life in a new way.
What have been your favourite parts of the process of ‘As Chosen By’?
The plants themselves are the greatest teachers - my time taking a plant’s portrait is often a rare moment of focus and connection. And feeling inspired by the people I meet is a big part of what motivates me towards this work. There is so much to learn from those that connect with plants and flowers.