About

Growing up in Edinburgh, photographer Soo Burnell constantly found inspiration in the iconic buildings and architecture that Scotland’s capital city is renowned for, and these early impressions were to inform her later work. Following a project at Glenogle Baths, a pool she swam in as a child, Soo was reintroduced to the beauty of the architecture and the serenity found in these spaces, and this was the catalyst for a new direction in her photography.

Soo began documenting other historic pools around Edinburgh with the intention of capturing their striking architecture and, by contrast, the stillness housed within, and this led to her first exhibition, Poolside, in 2018. Soo went on to photograph notable pools across the UK, from Aberdeen to Manchester and London, as well as the landmark London Aquatics Centre that was designed by architect Zaha Hadid.

Since then, Soo has photographed pools across Europe, including a collection of pools in Paris for an exhibition called Into The Blue, and she has recently returned from Japan after photographing a series of traditional bathhouses for a new collection, At The Onsen.

Soo’s passion for architecture and the spaces within is reflected throughout her work. Again, she turned to her home city for inspiration with I am home, photographing at locations around Edinburgh, from the voluminous Grand Gallery that welcomes visitors into the National Museum of Scotland to the richly detailed interior spaces in National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait gallery, to scenes from the Georgian streets and buildings of the city’s historic New Town.

Soo’s Night at the Movies collection celebrates two iconic independent cinemas: The Scotsman Picturehouse, designed in the Art Deco style and nestled within The Scotsman Hotel on Edinburgh’s North Bridge, and Regent Street Cinema in the heart of London, which is known as the birthplace of British cinema as this was the first venue to show moving film footage in the UK. The photographs in this series evoke a sense of nostalgia while celebrating both the history of these buildings and our enduring connection with cinema.

More recently, Soo spent time in The Hague working on a new series titled The Plesman Collection. Described as an ode to The Hague, Soo guides viewers on a photographic journey that stretches from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag museum, designed by Dutch architect Hendrik Berlage, to Scheveningen beach and the Skyview Pier with its 50 metre-high Ferris wheel. Soo also photographed inside The Plesman, once home to the headquarters of KLM and now a luxurious design hotel, and this collection is displayed throughout the hotel for guests to enjoy.

Over the last six years, Soo’s work has been showcased internationally, including exhibitions in New York, Paris, Berlin, The Hague, Ostend, London, Tokyo and Seoul, and she is represented by galleries all over the world. In 2021, Soo published her first book, To the Water, and an updated second edition is due for release later this year. Soo’s work has also been featured in numerous publications, both digital and in print, including Accidentally Wes Anderson Vol. 1 and Vol. 2,  The Times, Ignant, Time Out, PLAIN Magazine, AIT, Hidden Scotland, and many more.