Kirsty in Wonderland

 

"Wonderland" by Kirsty Mitchell

I first came across Kirsty Mitchell's photography on Design Don't Panic. With their dream-like quality and oft-technicolor palette, I was planning to save these images from her "Wonderland" series for a cold, blustery day. Today wasn't bad in the scheme of a New England winter, but with a sinus infection and a deadline looming, I could stand to spend a little time in Wonderland right now.

As a full-time fashion designer, it was only in 2007 that personal illness led Kirsty to pick up a camera. Her mother's death a year later further impacted her vision of the world and her work, eventually bringing her to "Wonderland." Here she combines her background as a fashion and costume designer with the memory of the stories her mother told her as a child growing up in Kent (otherwise known as the "Garden of England").

Kirsty and a small team created all aspects of the images, from costumes and wigs to props and set design. Pairing these creations with the natural landscape, a magical world began to emerge, and Kirsty has no intent of ending the project until the timing feels right. She continues to shoot "Wonderland" in the English countryside a year and a half after she began.

This physical creation is my favourite part, and has taken me to places I would have otherwise never known. I have walked on snow covered in flowers, stood in lakes at sunset, painted trees, set fire to chairs, made smoking umbrellas, and giant wigs from stolen flowers. I have laughed, been overwhelmed, and left in awe of all the things I had previously passed unnoticed until now ... [Kirsty Mitchell]