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Elaine DuigenanElaine Duigenan (b. 1964) lives and works in London. Her work is primarily concerned with still life, with her various series of work being artistic investigations based on her historical research with subject matter that is either ‘found’ or ‘made’, be it a plant or an object.
Duigenan has exhibited internationally and has worked with the Wellcome Collection in London. She has received awards from the Prix de la Photographie, Moscow Foto Awards and International Photo Awards; and her works have appeared in numerous publications. She was elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 2025, a Society devoted to the study of natural history. She exhibited in Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture at the Saatchi Gallery in 2025 and will have a solo exhibition this year at the home of Lee Miller and Sir Roland Penrose, Farley's House & Gallery. Collections holding her work include the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the Museum of Fine Art, Houston.
In her Wanton Construction series, Duigenan refers to an incident in 1909, when two militant suffragettes broke into greenhouses at Kew Gardens. They removed protective bell jars and destroyed precious orchids leaving a note saying 'Votes For Women’. The Director of Kew Gardens referred to this as 'wanton destruction' (which is the inspiration for the series’ title).
Duigenan's Now We Are Blue series has a subtitle ‘The Art of Dyeing’. She writes: "Orchids have been hybridised many times over and now millions are produced annually. But we are not satisfied to enjoy their beauty as nature intended. We cut gashes into their stems and force dye into their vascular systems. What was once the choicest bloom is no longer good enough. Now we are blue."
Photography
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 1/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 2/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 1/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 2/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 1/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 1/3 + 2 A/P
42 x 59.4 cm
Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper
Edition 3/3 + 2 A/P
