Smoke and Mirrors

photographs by
Ellie Davies

This series is made in remote areas of The New Forest and Dartmoor in the UK, far from pathways and seldom visited by the public.

From an early age the notion of the forest is given a sinister and threatening personality in the form of fairy tales and children’s stories. Stepping inside the dense forest feels like entering another world.

These sensory experiences often lead to the forest being used as metaphor. The wild and impenetrable forest has long symbolized the dark, hidden world of the unconscious.

These magical, fantasy golden trees, transported to the hearts of mature, dark forests, allude to this, whilst also evoking a sense of the fairytale.

– Ellie Davies