Capturing order and chaos in the suburbs

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Her work normally takes her to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands, the Pennines and hiking trails around the world. But for her new exhibition local photographer Caroline Fraser has chosen a more familiar subject – Chislehurst.

As part of her recently completed PG cert in photography at Central St Martins University of the Arts, Caroline has captured local life in two bodies of work. “They contrast the chaos of nature with the effects of man’s desire to impose order on the vegetation of suburbia,” she says.

The first is ‘Hawkwood’, a series of photographs based around poem Caroline wrote about the local woodland. Influenced by photographers such as Jan Tove and Eliot Porter, she focuses on the chaotic forms seen in treetops and river reflections, creating abstract images in nature.

The second is ‘Springtime in Suburbia’ a light hearted look at the hedges and pollarded trees in and around the Chislehurst Road. It’s a record of how we alter the natural forms of nature in a desire for tidiness and order in our gardens and streets.

‘Springtime in Suburbia’ is an ongoing project which will continue throughout the year as part of the London Villages Project, in which members of London Independent Photography record the capital’s boroughs, as part of a collaboration leading up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Both series will be exhibited at the Chislehurst Festival in September.

Caroline is president of Beckenham Photographic Society which warmly welcomes new members, who meet on Wednesday evenings. More of Caroline’s work can be seen by clicking here.