1.
situational cyanotype, 2020
exposed on 07.05.2020
≈ 52°22'55"N 4°53'22"E
≈ 80x110cm
13gsm paper
unique
2.
situational cyanotype, 2020
exposed on 09.05.2020
≈ 52°22'55"N 4°53'22"E
≈ 80x110cm
13gsm paper
unique
3.
situational cyanotype, 2020
exposed on 18.05.2020
≈ 52°22'55"N 4°53'22"E
≈ 80x110cm
13gsm paper
unique
4.
situational cyanotype, 2020
exposed on 06.05.2020
≈ 52°22'55"N 4°53'22"E
≈ 80x110cm
13gsm paper
unique
5.
situational cyanotype, 2020
exposed on 20.05.2020
≈ 52°22'55"N 4°53'22"E
≈ 80x110cm
13gsm paper
unique
This work explores photography as a medium of light-writing over and above being a medium of representation. The word ‘photography’ stems from the Greek 'photos' meaning ‘light’, and 'graphos', meaning ‘writing, delineation, or painting’ (Wilder, 2006); and thus translates literally as ‘light writing’. There is no camera involved, there is only sunlight making an impression on a surface.
Produced during The Netherlands’ recent "intelligent" lockdown I exposed the cyanotypes to sunlight on sunny days just outside my home in Amsterdam. I did not time the exposures, they weren't planned more than a day in advance. The scale and fragility of the paper prove challenging: particularly to ensure the print remains intact throughout the process. There are many opportunities for failure here; yet this feels central to my process. There is a fragility in this work that somehow gelled with the collective—or maybe just my—mood during these strange and unprecedented times.