cameraless photography
AFTER ATKINS photograms
Anna Atkins' Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions (1843) was the first ever book illustrated with photographic images. Atkins applied the cyanotype process to scientfic illustration, placing algae and plants directly onto sensitized paper and exposing them to daylight, to produce captivating compositions which merged art and science.
Cristina Sáez takes inspiration from these pioneering works to explore contemporary relations to the natural world, making visible the secrets hidden in even the most pristine landscape. The photograms in the series 'PETcorso Vita' feature plants and plastic beverage bottles collected during walks in the woods, along the fitness trail known as Percorso Vita.
Cristina Sáez takes inspiration from these pioneering works to explore contemporary relations to the natural world, making visible the secrets hidden in even the most pristine landscape. The photograms in the series 'PETcorso Vita' feature plants and plastic beverage bottles collected during walks in the woods, along the fitness trail known as Percorso Vita.
SKIN CARE chemigrams
"How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young" - Oscar Wilde - 'The picture of Dorian Grey'
The series SKIN CARE stems from a critical reflection on the cosmetic industry and the proliferation of the selfie. These photographs, created by the traces of the body on photosensitive surface, act like the portrait of Dorian Grey: they show the imperfections that makeup and filters over selfies try to hide, skin that is alive and imperfect. An alternative representation of the body, which reclaims the self-portrait as a creative process and the tactile dimension of the photograph.
Chemigrams are photographs made without a camera or a darkroom, using traditional black and white chemistry and photographic paper, contaminated in this case with a mixture of Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cera Microcristallina, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol(Eucerit®), Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol and Parfum, also known as Nivea Creme. The creme applied on the skin leaves a trace on the photographic paper which alters the development process, with unpredictable consequences, like the long-term effects of the chemicals with which we poison our bodies and our environment.
The series SKIN CARE stems from a critical reflection on the cosmetic industry and the proliferation of the selfie. These photographs, created by the traces of the body on photosensitive surface, act like the portrait of Dorian Grey: they show the imperfections that makeup and filters over selfies try to hide, skin that is alive and imperfect. An alternative representation of the body, which reclaims the self-portrait as a creative process and the tactile dimension of the photograph.
Chemigrams are photographs made without a camera or a darkroom, using traditional black and white chemistry and photographic paper, contaminated in this case with a mixture of Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cera Microcristallina, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol(Eucerit®), Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol and Parfum, also known as Nivea Creme. The creme applied on the skin leaves a trace on the photographic paper which alters the development process, with unpredictable consequences, like the long-term effects of the chemicals with which we poison our bodies and our environment.
CHEMIPOULP chemigrams
"…. It has no bones, it has no blood, it has no flesh. It is flabby. There is nothing in it. It is a skin. One can turn its eight tentacles wrong side out, like the fingers of a glove... This is the monster which mariners call the poulp, which science calls the cephalopod, and which legend calls the kraken." - Victor Hugo - ‘The Toilers of the Sea’
