New Work:
In Praise Of Raw Data

Image: Carina Nebila, Risograph Print, 2024.

I am pleased to announce a new project - In Praise Of Raw Data, which is supported by Canterbury Christ Church University. In this project, I am collaborating with Dr Claudia Mignone, an astronomer at INAF - Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Rome.

We 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.

This project comprises of several colour printing processes and sustainable printing techniques, which mimic the digital imaging processing techniques. It draws attention to the artefacts resulting from astronomical telescopes and from the printing processes themselves. So far I have produced several risograph prints with Park Press, which can be seen on my website. In the next few months intend to experiment with plant based screen-printing inks and multi-layered cyanotypes.

This project comes out of my PhD research ”Ancient Light: Rematerialising The Astronomical Image”. 

Exhibitions

In September, I will be exhibiting Precious Metals at The Active Image: Political Ecologies & Photographic Agency exhibition, Create Gallery, Bristol, UK, 5-27 September 2024. This show is curated by the Sustainable Darkroom and Bristol Folk House Darkroom.

On the 21st September (Autumn Equinox), I will be curating Cosmic Perspectives: Bring Your Own Beamer at The Crypt, St Georges Church in Ramsgate with my collective Lumen Studios. This exhibition is supported by Ramsgate Town Council.

In October, I am co-curating Symbiosis III with Hayley Harrison and Ky Lewis, at Brighton Photo Fringe, with the London Alternative Photography Collective. The exhibition will open on 04 October and will continue until 17 November 2024.

Enter The Equinox
super/collider Polaroid Workshop
with In Situ Pendle

During the enter the equinox workshop, super/collider will lead a polaroid workshop using microscope and telescope images. This workshop is organised by In Situ, at Harwes Farm in Colne, Lancashire. The workshop will take place on 14th & 15th September 2024.

Beyond Sight
Aesthetica Magazine

Last month, LOOK Photo Biennial 2024: Beyond Sight at Open Eye Gallery was featured in Aesthetica Magazine. Here is an excerpt from the text below;

“The final project in the Biennial is Melanie King’s consideration of the lifecycle of silver and palladium, from their production within the cosmos and extraction from the Earth to their use in photography. The thing that makes Dr King’s exhibition so unique is her commitment to demonstrating methods and materials that are less harmful to the environment. Not content with simply suggesting new ideas, the artist implements them into her practice to showcase how these methods can be practically applied. She produced silver gelatin photographic prints of the night sky using a developer made from coffee. The images release silver into the photographic fixative when developed, so King used electrolysis to safety reclaim the silver from the fixer. This was then used to plate copper jewellery, meaning the metal is prevented from entering the water system and negatively affecting the environment. To do this, the artist acquired silversmithing skills to ensure she could turn the recycled silver into beautiful pieces and to better understand the material on a microscopic level. The majority of silver recycled each year, approximately 5000 tonnes, comes from electronics and photographic film. King’s work is a reminder that the photography and the natural world are not so far removed, and it is essential that image-makers continue to create their art in a way that leaves as little a trace on the environment as possible.

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I will be producing a new risograph postcard for October 2024!