It has been confirmed that the Dulwich Picture Gallery is set to open its doors to the public once more with its new exhibition looking at the history of photography.

On display from the 8th December, the Dulwich Picture Gallery will trace the history of photography as seen through the depictions of nature, revealing how the subject led to key advancements in the medium, from its very beginnings in 1840 to present day. 

This will be the first major photography exhibition to take place at the gallery, bringing together over 100 works by 35 leading international photographers, many never seen before.

Unearthed: Photography’s Roots follows the lasting legacy of the great pioneers who made some of the world’s first photographs of nature, examining key moments in the medium’s history and the influences of sociological change, artistic movements and technological developments, including Pictorialism through to Modernism, experiments with colour and contemporary photography and new technologies.

The exhibition will be displayed chronologically, focusing on botany and science throughout, the exhibition will highlight the innovations of some of the medium’s key figures, including William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) and Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) as well as several overlooked photographers including Japanese artist, Kazumasa Ogawa (1860-1929) and the English gardener, Charles Jones (1866-1959).

Unearthed: Photography’s Roots aims to highlight how nature photography has remained consistently radical, inventive and influential over the past two centuries. At the centre of the exhibition is a display of eleven works by the inventor and pioneer, Kazumasa Ogawa, whose effectively coloured photographs were created 30 years before colour film was invented.

Unearthed: Photography’s Roots will be on display at the Dulwich Picture Gallery from the 8th December until the 9th May 2021.