Aside from being the co-founder of London’s cult book shop IDEA, Angela Hill has become best known for her naturalistic style of photography. Following on from the success of her sold-out monograph Sylvia, documenting Sylvia Mann’s adolescence with such intimacy that led many to believe the subject was her daughter, Hill’s latest monograph is a study of her actual daughter Edith. Spanning two decades of the teenager’s life from girlhood to womanhood, the British photographer uses her camera as a vehicle to chart a mother’s gaze.

Imbued with a sense of familiarity and ease, images of Edith awkwardly turning away from the camera on family trips to the British coast or engrossed in a book on a long-haul train journey are paired with outtakes from editorials where Hill recruited a reluctant Edith to join – yet the same affinity remains whether it’s a professional shot or one from the family archive. Fascinated by the uneasy liminality of youth, as a photographer, Hill has a penchant for creating comprehensive portraits of individuals over prolonged periods. Many of the images in the book are captured in locations she travelled to as a child, returning to places she holds dear with her own children in the spirit of upholding familial traditions. Ultimately, Hill’s monograph is a portrait of youth that meditates on the passing of time with an ease only a mother knows how.

Ella Joyce: Following the release of Sylvia, Edith is the study of your own daughter’s adolescence. When did the idea for the book begin? 
Angela Hill: I very much enjoyed doing the Sylvia book and was pleased with its success – it sold out very quickly. I knew that I had even more images of Edith than of Sylvia as of course, I had been shooting her for 21 years! On seeing the photos of Edith on my Instagram account many people think she is Sylvia as they look very similar and they do actually have similar personalities and just like Sylvia, Edith became very much a muse to me in my work.

EJ: What is it that attracts you to the idea of a study on one individual?
AH: I am fascinated by youth and the process of emerging as an adult from childhood. That is why my most important pictures are of that process over some time.

EJ: As a teenager growing up, there is sometimes a reluctance to be photographed by our parents. Did you find this when photographing Edith? 
AH: Totally. I resorted to bribery and bargaining! What was wonderful is that when photographing a subject you know so very well they are completely themselves in front of you. She was often moody, truculent and reluctant, all of which was fine as it was honest.

“I am fascinated by youth and the process of emerging as an adult from childhood.”

EJ: The book spans two decades, how did you go about curating a comprehensive portrait from what I presume is an extended archive of imagery? 
AH: I mostly steered away from very young pictures as I wanted to feature Edith as part of my professional work and life. So I deliberately used images where I had shot her for editorials.

EJ: Adolescence is such a fundamental time for an individual…
AH: I remember that time so clearly for myself. A mixture of anger and frustration, longing and wishing, insecurity and moments of confidence, dreams of an idealised future – all of that is universal.

EJ: Can you tell us a little about the locations we see in the book, do they hold a personal meaning for you?
AH: Every shot I do, whether with an anonymous model I have never met before or with someone I have known for 21 years, has to be shot in a meaningful way. I like shooting in the UK or places abroad where I travelled with my parents. I had a very happy childhood and was very close to my parents. My father had so many varied interests and hobbies and I would be reluctantly dragged along to bird sanctuaries, air shows, metal detection trips to beaches, farms and forests. I never wanted to go but he wanted a companion so I was bribed with sweets and fell for the offer every time. Now of course I love going to places like bird sanctuaries and want to show Edith those places and shoot in them. Or if I shoot a model in her own house, as I did with Sylvia and Edith, it feels familiar as I remember spending time alone in my teenage bedroom with my record player and books.

EJ: How does it feel looking back on the images both as a photographer and a mother?
AH: Everything is still vivid and razor-sharp in my mind. I remember the cold December chill of shooting on a beach in West Sussex – I was trying out for a family Christmas card image. I remember the bird sanctuary with Edith where there were tears and reconciliation and a lunch shared with laughter. It’s all there, both in my mind and in the images.

Check out Edith and IDEA’s latest drops here.