This March I have been ask to lead a conversation with Garry Fabian Miller as part of the SHADOWS II: Natural Transformations symposium, Moose on The Loose Biennale of Research of the University of the Arts London (UAL). I have also contributed to the biennial by running some chemigram workshops.
Organised by Photomonitor and chaired by Kim Shaw, Executive Director of Photofusion, Material Matters: On making and the physicality of photography, focused on the importance of materiality in photographic practice. I shared panel with Sophy Rickett, Martin Newth, Edouard Taufenbach and Dafna Talmor.
On December 2016 I ran Across digital and analogue, a two day seminar looking at the intersections and possibilities of early photographic processes including the firsts 3D scanning technologies and today’s 3D scanning apps and printers.
This November Culture Trip interviewed me in my studio. I talk about questioning identity, ideology and representation with Art & Design Editor, Freire Barnes, whilst creating a wet collodion tintype portrait.
During this artist talk I presented the work Self Expanded which is going to be on display at the Mozilla Festival 2016, Ravensbourne College, London.
The series Self-Expanded uses #selfie pictures from Instagram to reflect on the commodification of the self through technology development and the networked image. The images are digitally projected onto expanded metal meshes and printed with the nineteenth century technique of wet collodion to create unique objects from ephemeral portraits. The expanded metal meshes physically represent the online nets in which digital images are developed and consumed.
September has been a quite busy month with two wet plate collodion workshops at the National Portrait Gallery in London as well as a two days course on alternative processes at the University of the Arts London. I have also joined the London Creative Network at Four Corners Gallery and prepared for future exciting projects!
Images of the workshop were taken by Andres Pantoja.
I dedicated the month of August to produce and deliver the pieces and workshops that were sold through the ticket to Tokyo campaign. This crowdfunding project aimed to raise £900 to help me to work with the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo in alternative photography related projects. This was an opportunity for me to expand my network and connect with the alternative photography community in Japan. There were many cost involved such as travel, accommodation, subsistence and materials and the museum funded many of them but I needed to complement their budget. At the end of the campaign £1,690 were raised of £900 (initial target) from 26 backers.
This July I have been in residency at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo (Japan) delivering a series of talks and photography workshops as part of the museum’s education and outreach programme. The residency programme was designed as experimental gallery sessions where participants were introduced to a range of early photographic processes in relation to the museum Julia Margaret Cameron exhibition.
Fantasy High Street & Team London Bridge commissioned me to produce a site specific outdoors installation responding to the theme Revealed, the piece needed to integrate nature within a urban environment.
Photogramming Nature is an interaction between photography and nature, a home for silhouettes and beautiful flower, plant and leaf outlines. Created using the early photographic cyanotype process, the silhouettes are recorded directly on the greenhouse panels through contact printing and exposure to natural UV light.
The piece was installed in Potters Field Park for the launch of Revealed Festival and it is now permanently installed in White Grounds, London Bridge.
Image credits: Jonathon Vines & Marcelo Deguchi
