Edinburgh-based photographer Soo Burnell‘s exhibition I Am Home at The Hoxton Hotel’s Hox Gallery in Edinburgh features photographs taken in various locations throughout the city, which the artist calls her home, from the National Museum of Scotland to the Portrait Gallery, from Stockbridge’s Grange sports ground to nearby Danube Street.
Known for its distinctive architecture and unique identity, the city is very popular on social media: however, she captures it the way locals would know, from a unique angle and perspective. As she states, ‘I wanted to capture an Edinburgh that locals would know; the familiar places that perhaps people have forgotten about.’
According to the biography on her website, growing up in Edinburgh, Soo ‘has always found inspiration in the city’s architecture. These early impressions would later reflect in her work.’ Following a project at Glenogle Baths swimming pool where she had learned to swim as a child, she has captured images of public baths across the UK, Europe, and Japan.
Her personal history is beautifully reflected in I Am Home too. For Burnell, this collection is a continuation of her poolside series, in terms of stylistic approach and mood, with its own identity. She explains, ‘These are places from my childhood. In my mind, I aimed to create a sense of old-fashioned formality in these scenes. The people in these images are characters in a story. I wanted to bring these forgotten moments to life.’ Her use of light contributes the feeling of ‘memory’, intentionally using darker, desaturated, moody shots alongside bright, illuminated ones.
Burnell’s unique style is characterised by her use of colour, geometry, and architectural elements: she features actors dressed in iconic historical styles. The collection is also inspired by a range of artistic and cultural references, including the works of Surrealist artist René Magritte, the 1975 film The Stepford Wives, and contemporary dramas Mad Men, The Queen’s Gambit and Severance.
The scenes she captures let the viewer take a moment out from the rush of life and step into a ‘tunnel’ to remember what is called home, where there’s always ‘something to remember, and something to forget’. She explains, ‘There’s a profound sense of calm that envelops me when I return to these familiar places – a soothing balm after the chaos of travel and new experiences. It’s the comforting embrace of nostalgia, that deep yearning for home. It’s in those moments when I step through the door and breathe in the familiar scents, the comfort of saying, “I am home”, fills my heart with warmth and belonging.’
In the exhibition, it’s a pleasant surprise to see some of the famous spots in the city viewed with a different perspective and mood, such as The Milkman coffee bar in Cockburn Street. She manages to show us places we see very often on social media from a different angle. Imagined People, at the National Museum of Scotland, is another good example of this, whose wide-angle composition captures the scene brightly.
Stepping into the gallery, it’s not only the physical material that takes the viewer in – it’s a mood and emotion that leads to a unique silence.
Soo Burnell’s mesmerising style makes viewers feel as if time has stopped running. Her scenes, while almost surreal, feel surprisingly natural. She manages to create a kind of timelessness, almost a vacuum in time, in a city that is home to generations, with its enduring aesthetic. The result is a wonderful dichotomy.
In the exhibition texts, I am Home is described as a ‘love letter to Edinburgh’… A letter that creates an intense urge to define what home is, on the way out of the exhibition hall. And a pop ballad from the 1960s, echoing in mind, ‘The weather’s cool, the folks are fine… PS I love you…’
With thanks to Omur Sahin (Insta: @theartsreporter) for this review.
