Sophie Fisher

The girl with the Turneresque ability to realise a scene believes whenever you put a mark on a piece of paper it means something. Drawing has the ability to speak in ways that words can’t.

As a student studying Landscape Architecture in Edinburgh, Sophie had the opportunity to conceptualise the transformation of a now erased concentration camp in Poland. The brief was to create a place where sensitive memories of events could live alongside a regenerated landscape.

Sophie used drawing as a tool to engage with the site. Reaching a realisation that water could bring back the synergy of life, ‘Water can be reflective, both literally and metaphorically; it has a peaceful quality which resonated with the essence of this landscape as it is now.

‘Rainfall fluctuates; sometimes there, sometimes not. Heavy rain would flood the blotted out concentration camp building foot-print. Then evaporate. Similar to how memory is fluid. Hopefully people would interact with the water in a remediated natural ecosystem whilst remembering the past.’

Sophie came to New Zealand after she graduated in 2016 for another perspective on the world. ‘I have always felt drawn to New Zealand. From a young age I was set on moving here. I love it. This country, people and landscapes hold a very special place in my heart and I feel very grateful to be able to call it home’.

Sophie has a Master of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Edinburgh, 2016. 1 year intern experience in London, 4 years landscape designing in New Zealand.