Saturday 15 Feb 2025 – Sunday 7 September 2025, Stonehenge Visitor Centre
Photoworks are proud to share a unique exhibition that presents new photographs of England’s historic stone circles by artists Sally Barton, Serena Burgis and Yuxi Hou.
Focussing on stone circles in English Heritage’s care, their photography highlights the meanings that communities draw from these special places, while exploring how prehistoric stone circles resonate with young people today. This will be the first ever exhibition of contemporary photography at the historic site.
Photoworks joined forces with English Heritage to support the three artists who focused on exploring and redefining heritage through the lens of contemporary photography. Selected for their distinctive perspectives and innovative approaches to photography, the artists spent extended periods of time exploring stone circle sites that held personal significance for each of them, creating photographs that capture new perspectives on heritage, community, identity, and place. Each artist engaged with communities and groups connected to their chosen site, presenting a diverse range of stories and perspectives on heritage. The programme provided a unique opportunity for the artists all under the age of 25 to immerse themselves in England’s cultural and historical narratives, using English Heritage’s open access sites as their creative canvas.
The exhibition is an integral part of a wider collaboration between Photoworks and English Heritage, contributing to Shout Out Loud, English Heritage’s national youth engagement programme. Committed to preserving and providing a platform for untold stories, English Heritage believes that photography can challenge perceptions and foster a deeper connection to our shared history. This partnership aims to empower young people to explore heritage sites across England, uncovering hidden stories and putting their ideas at the forefront of English Heritage’s mission.
Sally Barton
Sally Barton selected the Nine Ladies Stone Circle in Derbyshire. Inspired by the site’s folk traditions, particularly the legend of nine women turned to stone during a Sabbath dance, Barton’s images explore themes of ritual, community, femininity, and dance as a form of resistance. The Stones Are Ours reimagines the stone circles as sites of play and community ritual for children and other locals.
Serena Burgis
In Kingdoms of Scattered Stones British-Thai artist Serena Burgis’s intuitive work invites poetry, portraiture, and landscape into her diaristic practice. Burgis was drawn to the mysterious history and childhood memories of the Kingston Russel Stone Circle in Dorset. The etymology of the stones, possibly ‘foreign’ or ‘non-Christian’ and how they shape the physical and cultural identity of the English landscape intrigued the artist who engaged Dorset’s first and second generation South Asian community in her images that investigate identity, place and belonging.
Yuxi Hou
Yuxi Hou’s photographs capture the community spirit of Arbor Low Stone Circle in Derbyshire by weaving together ancient and modern stories. Hou engaged with people connecting with the stones today in diverse ways, uncovering personal stories and deep, lived connections through a series of sensitive portrayals of human interactions in different communities.
