During August in 2023 I was offered an opportunity to complete a 3-week artist residency at the Banyule Council Art Gallery, in Ivanhoe.
Across the three weeks I worked on a project to create a series of imagery by hand, using the cyanotype process of coating paper and using UV light to expose the images.
My project aimed to create imagery which invited viewers to slow down, rediscover and appreciate the often overlooked surroundings of the local area, including locations within a short walk of the Residency.
It did this through the use of hand made photographs created on a range of paper substrates. All photographs were taken on black and white 35mm film, and transferred to larger negative size, to enable the creation of the final prints.
Through experimentation with a variety of substrates, including watercolour paper, washi paper and bamboo papers, and trialling a variety of emulsion coating techniques, the outcome created was entirely different for each print.
Each paper enabled the introduction of altered levels of blue tone, and the paper and coating process influenced the final texture and curling of the paper through the drying process, adding more depth and intrigue to each final piece.
As part of the residency I also explored tonal adjustments in some of the pieces, aiming to reduce the distinctive cyanoptye blye, to uncover what other colours could be achieved by submerging the final prints in solutions of coffee, black tea and green tea for between 3 and 26 hours.
Artist Residency work space and work in process
Examples of dried pieces displayed to be analysed to influence decisions for the next experiments
Prints on the drying rack once they've had their final wash
Prints on the drying rack
Thin sub 40gsm Washi Paper prints, showing their curling and texture created while drying