Exhibition captures beauty of Wensleydales
Photographer’s celebration of rare sheep will bring visitors flocking. Tony Henderson reports
It was all happening in 1839. The first British-China Opium War broke out, Charles Goodyear successfully vulcanised rubber and the first recorded use of “OK” occurred in the Boston Morning Post.
In the same year the announcement of the daguerreotype process marked the birth of commercial photography - and a special lamb called Bluecap was born in the North of England.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the naming of the descendants of the ram lamb as the Wensleydale breed at the 17th Great Yorkshire Show in 1876.
Now photographer Elaine Vizor has brought together photography and the sheep in a new exhibition to celebrate the milestones.
Commissioned by Durham County Council, the Following Ewe display by photographer Elaine is at Bishop Auckland Town Hall until August 29 (open 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday).
Elaine, who grew up in Bishop Auckland, said: “I see my work as a way to explore the extraordinary in the ordinary, to find interest in the hidden world, to tell a story, and to share that with others.”
Her latest exhibition illustrates some of the work involved in rearing the rare breed of sheep.
The Wensleydale is a very large sheep, one of the heaviest of UK native breeds, and has a distinctive deep blue head and ears.
A luxury wool producer, the wool is highly sought after for a range of textile crafts and offers natural sustainability in a throwaway world.
Coun Karen Allison, Durham County Council Cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, said: “This will be a delightful exhibition from a County Durham photographer who clearly has a great passion for her craft.
“The Wensleydale breed is rare, and, by commissioning this exhibition, we are happy to help promote it.”
Elaine studied at Bishop Auckland College, and received her MA in Photography at University of Sunderland where one of her final portraits was displayed in the National Gallery as a Taylor Wessing Photographic Portraiture Prize finalist.
Her image of the fabrication of IN OUR IMAGE, County Durham’s tallest sculpture, was also shown in the Palace of Westminster and inspired Elaine’s love for public art.
The 16-metre-tall Hillier steel sculpture takes the form of a gigantic head and shoulders at the southern entrance to Newton Aycliffe Business Park.