New Work:
In Praise Of Raw Data

The above print Tarantula Nebula was produced in Birmingham this weekend, in collaboration with photographer Clare Hewitt, botanical ink maker Carolyn Morton and paper maker Danielle Phelps . Over the past few years I have been looking at how it is possible to make photographic processes more sustainable, but for this project I wanted to look at the sustainability of different printmaking techniques.

Within the In Praise Of Raw Data project, myself and Dr Claudia Mignone are looking at the construction of astronomical images and finding out more about artefacts that are removed from astronomical images. Astronomical images are highly mediated, for example - colours are added to represent chemicals present in a galaxy or nebula. In this project we are looking at raw images from the James Webb Telescope, and have been speaking to Alyssa Pagan and Joseph Depasquale at NASA to learn more about their image editing processes. We also spoke to Mark McCaughrean (Former Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency ) about his work with astronomical imaging.

Exhibitions

This month I am exhibiting work from my series Acquaintance at Brighton Photo Fringe, as part of the Photo Fringe 2024 OPEN Eco. A reproduction of my print, Mam Tor, cyanotype toned with dandelion leaves, 2023 is to be shown in an outdoor exhibition on Brighton seafront.

At Pheonix Art Space, I will show a sister print; Mam Tor, Cyanotype Toned With Oak Gall, 2023, as part of the Symbiosis III exhibition with the London Alternative Photography Collective.

About Acquaintance

Acquaintance explored the creative possibilities of botanical cyanotype toning and sustainable photographic processes. This exploration considered how location-specific sustainable photographic processes can produce bodies of work that are materially connected to the landscape. This project was centred on the Peak District and surrounding areas, close to where I grew up. I was not able to regularly access this landscape as a working class young person living in Manchester. This enquiry allowed me to become reacquainted with the landscape, through the lens of photography and through the material engagement with plants identified in the environments I visited.

Talk at The Photographers’ Gallery

From 06:30pm to 07:30pm on Wed 23 Oct 2024, I will be participating in The Social: Planning Exhibitions at The Photographers’ Gallery alongside Lisa Springer. Tickets are free but booking is essential.

Information from The Photographers’ Gallery website below;

‘Deliberately informal, The Social includes presentations by photography/arts professionals, offering tips on chosen themes and encourages participants to join the conversation and share their own insights. The theme for this session is ‘planning exhibitions’ with artist and curator Melanie King and curator Lisa Springer.

Together they will offer some background and advice related to the theme. Biographies: Dr Melanie King is a working class artist and curator based in Kent. She is interested in the relationship between the environment, photography and materiality, and is represented by the Land Art Agency. Melanie is co-Director of super/collider, Lumen Studios and founder of the London Alternative Photography Collective. Melanie is Lecturer In Photography at Canterbury Christ Church University. She has recently completed her PhD at the Royal College of Art.

Lisa Springer is the International Programmes Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, leading major photography exhibitions like Photo City and Arresting Beauty. With a background in European museums, she has curated globally recognized photography exhibitions and co-edited Julia Margaret Cameron: Arresting Beauty (2023).’

Support Me

- Patreon  (£10 Subscription includes: Monthly postcard and regular tutorials and videos.)
- Ko-Fi

I am pleased to say that this month on Patreon I am offering a postcard/mini risograph prints of the Carina Nebula. This print was made as part of my ‘In Praise Of Raw Data’ project.

The risograph prints are made using soya inks, plant starch masters and recycled paper. These prints are exclusively for £10+ Patreon subscribers, however you can sign up to receive a print throughout October.

All proceeds from Patreon from November 2024 to January 2025 will go towards my upcoming residency at Mawddach in Wales, where I plan to further my research into sustainable photographic processes.

Image: In Praise of Raw Data: Tarantula Nebula, Screen Print with Oak Gall Ink On Recycled Cup Paper, 2024.