Lockdown Project – Cyanotypes
This project was not about passing the time, but filling the creative void. I normally go out on early morning trips for my photography, my favourite thing to do is to check out the misty valleys in the South Downs. Due to the travel restrictions, creating from home was a cathartic way to fill the artistic void. Inspired by the sui generis shapes of the foliage in my back garden – I experimented with cyanotypes.
The cyanotype process uses a mixture of iron compounds, which when exposed to UV light and washed in water oxidise to create Prussian Blue images. The technique was invented in 1841 by Sir John Herschel and was popularised by photographer and botanist Anna Atkins. Her book ‘Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions’, published in October 1843, is considered the first photographically illustrated book.
What you see here is work I created over the time of no travel. I have been using different techniques to produce the textures, raiding the kitchen cupboards, from washing up liquid to Paprika and Bicarbonate of Soda. I have experimented with Wet Cyanotype too. This is still a learning process but I am having great fun in doing so.
