PhD Completion

I am pleased to announce that I have completed my PhD.
You can read my thesis and view my portfolio on the Royal College of Art - Research Online website using the link below.

Ancient Light: Rematerialising The Astronomical Image

Abstract:

How can the field of astronomical photography, viewed through the lens of new materialism, alter our collective perception of ecology? How does the coalescence of astronomy and materiality alter our perception of analogue photographic processes?

In this time of ecological catastrophe, it is important to readdress our tangible, material connection with the universe and our planet. By analysing this interaction between astronomy, new materialism, and photography, new insights are provided on how this convergence of theories alters our understanding of the natural world. The thesis demonstrates the interconnectedness between the universe, humans and photographic materiality. It discusses the importance of investigating the materials that we use daily, with a specific focus on waste produced by the photographic industry.

Analogue astronomical photography uniquely allows us to understand the intimate connection between the cosmos and the earthbound. Silver is found in distant stars, yet it can be mined from the depths of our Earth and used to create photographic images. Calcium is also found within stars such as our Sun, yet it is also a building block of bones and teeth, which can then be processed to make gelatin. In this text, I draw upon my own reflective practice; I have taken long exposure photographs of the stars in international dark sky locations and observatories. The methodology of this practice-based research is informed by Donna Haraway and Melody Jue, who advocate for an embodied experience of landscape. This research builds on Donald Schön’s concept of reflective knowledge. I discuss photographic artists working in and with the landscape, including Garry Fabian Miller and Susan Derges.

I go on to consider more-than-representational, non-human photography, as introduced by Rebecca Najdowski and Joanna Zylinska. My thesis is situated in the context of new materialism, which seeks to understand the intrinsic material connections between human and non-human phenomena. I draw on theorists such as Jane Bennett, Karen Barad, Donna Haraway and Timothy Morton, as well as from Robin Wall Kimmerer, who analyses the complex network of material exchanges from a perspective informed both by contemporary science and ancient indigenous thinking.

Understanding more about the interconnected nature of photographic and astronomical materiality, it becomes imperative to innovate new methods of sustainable photographic practice. This research demonstrates analogue photographic processes which are less damaging to the environment, including plant-based developers and silver reclamation from photographic fixer. Distinct from contemporary astronomical photographic images, which are often digital composites with interpreted colour, Ancient Light demonstrates our intimate connection with the cosmos, by examining the tangible, entangled connections between the stars, human existence, and the ecology of planet Earth. The thesis advances knowledge in this area by weaving these connections together, providingn new insights into the materiality of photography through theoretical lenses of varying magnitude, from subatomic to cosmic.

Exhibitions

I have several exhibitions on throughout the summer;

Precious Metals at Look Photo Biennal: Beyond Sight, Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK. 28 June - 01 September 2024. 

Surfacing at Sensing, Island Darkroom, Isle of Lewis, Scotland, UK, 01 August - 27 September 2024.

Oscillograph and a new collaborative lumen print installation at Air Index by Rachelle Bussieres. Taking place at EquivalentBehaviour and Tokoro Studio, London, UK. 14 - 18 August 2024.  Funded by Canada Council for the Arts.

New Studio

I have a new studio in Ramsgate, Kent, UK.  I’ll be using this space for cyanotypes, anthotypes, chlorophyll printing and some film developing with plant based developers. I’ll also use it for 1-2-1 workshops for people who want to learn these techniques.

New Work
Anatomy Of A Forest
Photo Canopy Commission

Anatomy Of A Forest is a result of my artist residency with Photo Canopy in Spring 2024.

For the residency, I was inspired by natural structures and forms, particularly those found in the book  ‘Li; Dynamic Forms In Nature’ by David Wade. These patterns include ‘fracture’, ‘crackle’ and ‘branching’, in addition to orb like forms.

‘Li comes to eventually represent in Daoist cosmology the more abstract quality of the natural patterns or structures within the universe along which all phenomena move and interact with one another without the interference of human beings’

Roth 羅浩 HD. The Classical Daoist Concept of LI 理 (Pattern) and Early Chinese Cosmology. Early China

Amongst other phenomena, I focused on circular shapes, branching, bark texture and patterns in mud. I am interested in how nature expresses itself, producing efficient solutions for growth, on a micro and macro scale.

Online Resources

1. In October 2023, I gave a lecture to Manchester Metropolitan University students based on my PhD research. I was very happy to return to my home city and meet MMU students! You can see the online lecture on the MMU Bunker Talks Website.

2. This week, Dr Claudia Mignone published an article focused on my practice; ‘Cosmic Perspectives Among the Shades of Jwst’ // ‘Prospettive cosmiche tra le sfumature di Jwst’. This is a new article by The Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. You can read the article by following this link.

An excerpt from the text in English and Italian below;

“From Ramsgate, a town on the south-east coast of England, where she lives, to the Scottish Highlands, from Andalusia to Pakistan to Atina, in the province of Frosinone, Melanie King is looking for light. Not daylight, which the Sun gives us every day, flooding our landscapes with “fresh” photons of just eight minutes. King is looking for ancient light, which came from distant stars hundreds, thousands of years ago. To capture it, on analog film, she visits places with dark skies, wandering in the darkness and creating long photographic exposures , lasting between thirty seconds and five minutes.”

“Da Ramsgate, cittadina sulla costa sud-orientale dell’Inghilterra, dove risiede, alle Highland scozzesi, dall’Andalusia al Pakistan fino ad Atina, provincia di Frosinone, Melanie King è alla ricerca della luce. Non la luce diurna, che il Sole ci regala ogni giorno, inondando i nostri paesaggi di fotoni “freschi” di appena otto minuti. King cerca la luce antica, partita centinaia, migliaia di anni fa da astri lontani. Per catturarla, su pellicola analogica, visita luoghi con cieli scuri, vagando nel buio e creando lunghe esposizioni fotografiche, dalla durata variabile tra trenta secondi e cinque minuti.”

Claudia and I are currently collaborating on a project called In Praise of Raw Data which is currently being chronicled on Instagram.

 Making of A Meadow

In June 2024, super/collider were invited by Dr Jessica Potter, Researcher and MA Photography Tutor at the Royal College of Art, to the Making of a Meadow event. super/collider led moon gazing and experimental sound workshops.

Making of a Meadow  brought together artists and researchers working at  the intersection of practice-based research in the arts with ecology and  restorative methodologies. With a focus on combined fieldwork in the Kent  Downs National Landscapes, the event shared practices in order to identify interdisciplinary and experimental modes of conducting, evaluating  and disseminating field research. Making of a Meadow aimed to develop  “attentive methodologies”, with a focus on how we might care for a region  of immense bio and geo diversity, it asks: how can we listen to the land,  speaking not just for it, but with it? 

We met at Rebel Farm Kent, for 24 hours of workshops spanning the different  lights and spaces of the local landscape, drawing on current ecologies of  practice that are sensitive and attentive to biodiverse habitats.

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