Hidcote transformed into storybook world for new exhibition

A new Cotswolds exhibition blends photography, illustration and storytelling to reimagine Hidcote as a magical threshold where ‘reality slips into wonder’.

A Place That Whispers, featuring 30 artworks by internationally acclaimed photographic artists Anderson ns Low, will be on display at Hidcote from March 16 to September 13.

The artists said: “Ultimately, this exhibition is a homage—not only to Hidcote and its maker, but to the enduring idea of the garden as a threshold—a place where reality slips into wonder and where landscape itself becomes fable.”

Jonathan Anderson and Edwin Low discovered Hidcote during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A spokesperson said: “With few visitors and silent paths, the garden felt like a forgotten storybook.

“Hidcote became both sanctuary and muse, and the inspiration for this exhibition.”

The artists described the gardens as ‘a world more akin to legend, myth and fairy tales than present life’, where ‘ancient trees whispered myths’ and ‘flowers bloomed with character’.

Their exhibition, displayed in the entrance hall of Hidcote’s Manor House, brings these impressions to life using direct-to-plate (DTP) photopolymer gravure.

This is a pioneering, sustainable and chemical-free printmaking approach.

Each image is accompanied by its own story—whether a fairy tale, myth or fantastical tale—drawn from diverse cultural traditions and perspectives, becoming both a visual and literary journey.

Anderson and Low are also visiting research fellows at Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham City University, where they are pioneering the DTP technique.

Their photographs are held in collections including the National Portrait Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hidcote, now Grade I listed, was created by Major Lawrence Johnston.

Designed as a series of interconnected garden ‘rooms,’ it features plants collected from his travels around the world.

The garden has been cared for by the National Trust since 1948.

For visitors to the exhibition, normal admission to Hidcote applies and there is no need to book in advance.

Full details are available via the National Trust website.