TECHNICOLOUR DICKENS EXHIBITION TO BE HOSTED AS DIMBOLA REOPENS FOR 2024

Dimbola is set to reopen next Saturday (3rd February) with their first exhibition of 2024 – Technicolour Dickens: The Living Image of Charles Dickens. Technicolour Dickens was originally commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of his death in 2020 and was co-curated by The Charles Dickens Museum. Dimbola are bringing it to the Isle of Wight to coincide with it being 175 years since the publication of David Copperfield, partly written whilst the author was staying at Ventnor. The exhibition presents Dickens’ story through the medium of Victorian photography, with each image brought to life in full technicolour – giving the exhibition its name. Using the pioneering world of this early artistry, Dickens was able to enhance his fame and reputation. In showcasing these works this collection will sit alongside the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, who although was not known to have met Dickens, there is a slight possibility that they met at Little Holland House soirées. However, Julia did photograph many of his acquaintances such as Thomas Carlyle, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Anne Thackeray Ritchie and William Holman Hunt, to name a few. A film by Jamie Langton will form part of the Dimbola exhibition entitled ‘Dickens Island’. During his time on the Isle of Wight, Dickens befriended Tennyson who became God father to Alfred Dickens, Charles and Catherine’s sixth child and was named after him. Visitors will be able to catch Technicolour Dickens from 3rd February until 19th May.