External Shots

Although I usually photograph in the studio, I have been trying hard to move out towards a more natural setting for specific photographs. This year I had three of such shoots examining the myths or hypothetical myths of three Goddesses: Persephone, Hestia and Athena. Each Goddess was assigned a different setting and talked through the myth or how I wanted their myth to be told. The results are not to the controlled standard of the studio photography; however I believe that they function as a slightly different type of image. 

Persephone

I chose Linn Park in Glasgow as the setting for my Persephone's underworld, modelled by Jill Henderson.  The setting was ideal in portraying the same world in various ways - as the sun-drenched field that Perephone had been snatched from, as the dark, twisted realms of the underworld and eventually as the enticing place that Persephone would become enthralled with and leave her mother and Olympus to stay with Hades. The pomegranate was fairly essential in establishing the Goddess concerned, however I felt it important that the initial stages of the work could be any young girl.

Athena

With Athena's myth, I wanted to highlight the contrast between her isolation within Zeus' head and the freedom she gained upon emergence. Although she was effectively Goddess royalty, I often imagine her as a bored, unfulfilled woman, restricted by her royal status and lacking  I photographed in numerous settings for this, from Crail and Kingsbarns in Fife, to Lochinver in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. (Model: Lauren Peebles)

Hestia (and Athena)

Hestia's myth is relatively unknown, due to her supposed wishes to stay indoors and avoid much contact with the oustide world. This allowed me to be as flexible and imaginative with the narrative as possible. photographing in various locations across Ullapool in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, I imagined Hestia as a traditional Grandmother figure to Athena and ready to pass on to the next life. Venturing outside for the last time, she tells Athena of her wishes and refuses to succumb to Athena's pleads for her to reconsider. In a further twist, Hestia tells Athena that she must be the one to complete Hestia's life in a ritual of fire. Athena builds the stone circle, says her goodbyes and the final image sees her lighting the match. (Models: Jennifer McLachlan and Lauren Peebles)

LYMA Images 2012: These images belong to Lynsey Mather, do not copy or use without permission.