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Northumberland Landscapes

Isabela Jedrzejczyk

Northumberland Landscapes image
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82 © Isabela Jedrzejczyk

Northumberland Landscapes

A sensitive portrayal of rural Northumberland landscapes taken in the early 1980s.
  • Photographic
  • Rural Locations
  • Northern Documentary
  • Place
  • 1980 – 1989
  • Northumberland
  • UK

Northumberland Landscapes sensitively portrays the many facets of the Northumbrian rural environment, from rugged crags and windswept hills to quiet settlements of cottages and shaded woodlands. Photographed by Jedrzejczyk with a vivid understanding of the dramatic effects of sunlight and clouds casting light and shadow over the land, they make a historical and ecological statement about one of the UK's few great rural expanses.

"There are many issues embodied in the land, ecological as well as financial. The main point I would like to make is that the landscape is our heritage and our future. We can read the past in it, and if we protect it, it offers us a future." - Isabela Jedrzejczyk, 1983

Isabela Jedrzejczyk is a documentary photographer whose work explores the lives and landscapes of working-class communities, particularly in the North East of England. Born in London, she studied at Nottingham Trent University before moving to Newcastle in 1977 to work at Side Gallery. She soon became a member of the Amber Collective, contributing to the growing AmberSide Collection.

Originally known for her landscape photography, Jedrzejczyk turned her focus to people and places with strong social and historical significance. In 1980, she produced Jungle Portraits, a series of portraits taken at the Northumberland Arms in North Shields, a pub known locally as The Jungle and a gathering place for the fishing community.

Now living in a village near Carlisle, Cumbria, Jedrzejczyk is known for work that reflects an interest in capturing the character and atmosphere of everyday spaces.

© Isabela Jedrzejczyk
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes: Capheaton, 1981
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes: Bavington, 1982
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes: Plashetts, 1981
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes, c. 1981/82
Northumberland Landscapes: Haining Burn, 1982
Northumberland Landscapes: Ritto Hill, 1982

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