From the perspective of an artist, my contribution will move between two domestic sites: Dimbola Lodge, the Isle of Wight home of Julia Margaret Cameron where many of her greatest works were made, and the hallway of Mary Hillier’s grand-daughter, a ten-minute walk down the road from Dimbola. Hillier, a domestic servant was a favourite model for Cameron.

I will reflect on the meaning of ‘uncanny encounters’ relating to specific photographic portraits of a domestic servant called ‘Mary’ and consider what do they reveal about the bond between employer and servant, artist and sitter in terms femininity, desire, class and cross generational history.

• https://www.nickybird.com/projects/traci...