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hélène binet
architecture by sir john soane

29 january – 27 february 2025

Portrait by Jasmine Bruno

Hélène Binet’s photographic series for this presentation—titled Soane’s Light—was commissioned by the Sir John Soane’s Museum as a contemporary companion to an exhibition exploring Soane’s use of illumination and optical effects. Through three large-scale digital prints created in 2019, Binet investigates the enduring interplay of light and shadow that defines Soane’s architecture. Rather than purely documentary images, these works are thoughtful studies in perception. Binet’s lens attends to the atmospheric nuances of space: the gentle diffusion of daylight across plaster surfaces, the dramatic contrasts that animate Soane’s top-lit galleries, and the almost sculptural silhouettes created by architectural apertures. Each photograph becomes a meditation on Soane’s ingenuity—a way of seeing that resonates with his own belief in lumière mystérieuse, the mysterious and expressive quality of light that heightens our experience of space.

In Binet’s images, Soane’s architecture is not presented as static history but as a dynamic participant in an ongoing dialogue with light. Her practice reveals both the material richness of Soane’s spaces and the intangible qualities that make them perennial sources of wonder. This series invites the viewer not just to look at Soane’s building, but to see with Binet’s attentive gaze—discovering familiar spaces anew through the transformative power of light.

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© Hélène Binet 'Soanes Light 01' Architecture by Sir John Soanes courtesy ammann//gallery

Soane’s Light 01
(Architecture by Sir John Soane)
Hélène Binet

year: 2019
material: digital c-type print
measurements: w 100 x h 127 cm
w 39.4 x h 50 inches
edition: 3 + 2 a.p.

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© Hélène Binet 'Soanes Light 2' Architecture by Sir John Soanes courtesy ammann//gallery

Soane’s Light 02
(Architecture by Sir John Soane)
Hélène Binet

year: 2019
material: digital c-type print
measurements: w 100 x h 127 cm
w 39.4 x h 50 inches
edition: 3 + 2 a.p.

enquire
© Hélène Binet 'Soanes Light 3' Architecture by Sir John Soanes courtesy ammann//gallery

Soane’s Light 03
(Architecture by Sir John Soane)
Hélène Binet

year: 2019
material: digital c-type print
measurements: w 127 x h 100 cm
w 50 x h 39.4 inches
edition: 3 + 2 a.p.

enquire

Portrait by Colm Moore

Hélène Binet is widely regarded as one of the most profound architectural photographers working today. Born in Switzerland and based in London, she has spent over three decades exploring the spatial poetics of architecture through her camera, documenting buildings not as mere structures but as living, breathing expressions of light, material and form. Her photographs are the result of a deeply meditative practice that privileges natural light, subtle composition, and an intuitive embrace of surface and shadow. Rather than simply recording a building’s appearance, Binet coaxes from it an emotional and intellectual resonance—revealing not just how architecture looks, but how it feels. Her work has been celebrated internationally, held in major museum collections, and recognised with prestigious awards that attest to her singular contribution to the field of architectural photography.

Sir John Soane, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. (Soane Museum, London)

Sir John Soane (1753–1837) stands among the most inventive architects in British history, best known for his masterful handling of light and space within a neoclassical idiom. His most intimate architectural experiment is also his most enduring legacy: Sir John Soane’s Museum, his former home at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. Established by private Act of Parliament upon his death, the museum preserves his evolving architectural laboratory—rooms densely packed with art, antiquities, drawings, and models that reflect his lifelong commitment to teaching, collecting, and creative exploration. Soane’s innovations, particularly his inventive use of top-lighting, mirrors and coloured glass, expanded the expressive potential of architecture and anticipated many modern ideas about spatial experience. The Museum remains both a historical treasure and a living space for creative engagement with architecture’s power to shape perception.