A Love Letter to Mount Stewart — Through the Looking Glass

For more than fifty years, local photographer Liane Radcliffe has been captivated by the beauty and spirit of Mount Stewart. Her new exhibition, ‘A Love Letter to Mount Stewart — Through the Looking Glass’, is a deeply personal tribute to a place that has inspired her since childhood. Describing photography as “painting with light”, Liane uses light and reflection to capture the changing moods of nature and the quiet poetry of the seasons and each visit to Mount Stewart, she says, feels like “stepping through the looking glass, returning to that five-year-old self exploring a secret garden filled with wonder and fairies.”

This exhibition blends the sacred geometry of the mandala with the interlacing of ancient Celtic art to evoke a sense of spiritual harmony and continuity. The mandala’s circular symmetry symbolizes unity and inner balance, while the Celtic knots, with their endless looping patterns, reflect the eternal cycle of life and renewal. By digitally reflecting and reimagining her favourite Mount Stewart scenes, Liane has created intricate, dreamlike mandala-inspired compositions that honour the landscape’s balance and beauty.

A Love Letter to Mount Stewart — Through the Looking Glass invites visitors to step into a world of reflection, memory, and light, and to rediscover the timeless magic that lives within Northern Ireland’s natural beauty.