Tim Walker: Wonderful Things

Wonderful Things is the largest exhibition of British photographer Tim Walker’s work.  Running from 21 September 2019 until 08 March 2020.  It included a retrospective of his work as well as ten new series, created specifically for the exhibition.  Walker spent a year or more selecting ten objects from the V&A’s collections, then a further year making photographs inspired by the objects.

One of the first sections within the exhibition is a recreated chapel.  The scene below depicting in a stained glass window from the 1520s prompted Walker to conduct a photo shoot based on some of the bold colours found within the stained glass.

Tobias and Sara on their Wedding Night, about 1520 Cologne, Germany. The V&A collection © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Red, in particular, was chosen to recreate the feeling of warmth in the window scene, as the colour reminds Walker of his mother and childhood family home.

Tim Walker, Illuminations, Sara Grace Wallerstedt. Fashion: Moncler 1 Pierpaolo Piccioli, London, 2018. © Tim Walker Studio

I have always battled with the tenuous nature of such links, but am in no position to question the cues an observer may take from an image.  It is of course pleasing to see a current exhibition draw inspiration from medieval stained glass.