Friends to frontiers

The first survey exhibition of Annabel Moeller is now on display at Farleys House & Gallery in East Sussex. Jessica Miller talks to Annabel about her 30-year career defined by adventure, curiosity, and diverse subject matter

This spring, Farleys House & Gallery – the post-war East Sussex home of Lee Miller – is the base of Annabel Moeller’s first survey exhibition. Comparable to the multifaceted but fascinating work of Lee Miller herself, Annabel covers a range of genres including war and conflict photojournalism, performing arts, interiors, and portraiture. From major productions around the world through to the documentation of current affairs and conflict, the exhibition presents an extraordinary catalogue of human experiences.

Early years 

Annabel’s career to date spans 30 years, with her photographic journey truly beginning when she went to Australia on holiday. But her inspiration started much earlier as her father was working on Fleet Street. ‘I was always seeing him and all his mates having loads of great adventures and all the fun of the fair that comes with that,’ she reflects.

When Annabel left school, she studied a business management course at the London College of Fashion. Having discovered that it was the wrong course – and a 9-5 job not being suitable for her to thrive – she landed a picture researcher position at Camera Press, one of Britain’s top picture library agencies. ‘I’m going to take pictures and have every adventure going, if I can,’ she tells me. ‘Getting into photography just suited me personality-wise, as well as creatively.

She then went on a short trip to Australia – which ended up lasting 16 years – where she worked for a photographer in a commercial studio and learnt about darkrooms and processing film.

Diverse subjects