While the images are new, the body of work draws familiar themes that have appeared in Summerton’s work since the genesis of her career and revolved around her since birth. The photographs, on many levels, present Summerton (a frequent Vanity Fair contributor) in different moments of pregnancy or infantilism, from wearing a pregnant belly to laying in a fetal position on a riverside inside a soft painted placenta. “I have always been intrigued with the concept of in utero memory and how that and our birth affects who we are. I was ‘born in the caul,’ also called a mermaid birth. There are a lot of mystical theories around caul births that intrigue me. Sailors would take a dried caul with them to sea as a talisman to protect them from drowning—apparently a caul baby will never drown!”
This type of mysticism bleeds into all aspects of Summerton’s work, from describing her creativity as a metaphoric baby—something that needs deep nurturing and lifelong care—to mystic motifs in the photographs. “Craigengillan [where the photos were made in Scotland] is such a magical place,” she said. “You can only let the nature there take you for the ride and you simply add to it. I really wanted to get in it and feel part of nature, even though I look alien to the surroundings it enveloped me and led the way.”