"Fern Ticket"
Limited Edition Fine Art Prints
"A taboo so sweet
A myth so endearing
A lover’s retreat
A comfortable clearing..."
​
- Zakiya Mckenzie
About the Prints
It was towards the end of August I was wandering through the Forest, as I do with the camera, and I noticed the start of the ferns changing their colours. Fern Ticket #2 was the fern I saw just the tip turning from it's beautiful luscious green to a rich rustic orange colour. This captured my imagination and I spent the rest of the early Autumn capturing the ferns changing. They give the impression that they change colour almost one at a time, and I was interested in how the orange fronds stood out against the green ones they were surrounded by. After capturing a few of these images, I spent time back home editing, and I was taken by how good these look in black and white. I thought it was an interesting contrast, where the changing colour could be translated in images absent of its colour.
​
All these are square formatted images, and are available at 30cm or 50cm. These are all limited prints and what you will get with each print is a Certificate of Authenticity displaying the print name and the unique number yours is within the series. There are only 5 prints available of each photo, so you can be assured these are rare.
What is a 'Fern Ticket'?
'Fern Ticket' refers to a symbolic pass for lovers to escape into the Forest to engage amorous activities. The stories go that you could buy a fern ticket from some pubs. Whilst it's a cheeky past-time for some, there are some deep historical and social aspects to this. Forest communities in the past tended to be deeply religious and maintained tradition family values. With the majority of the population involved with mining or timber trades, the typical small miner's cottages would house large families. Equally, the communities would be as close-knit as the families in the cottages themselves. This created little privacy and everyone would be aware of each other's comings and goings. This became especially problematic for young unmarried and same-sex couples, where any love-making was frowned upon, at best, shamed and even casted out of their communities. This is where running away into the Forest, away from the prying eyes proved an attractive solution for 'unconventional' couples to be intimate with each, free of fear and shame.