During the Covid pandemic of 2020/21, we have spent many hours in our own homes, unable to meet with family or friends or to access workshops. We have all had to find new ways of working and have had to reach out to audiences online, rather than in the form of physical exhibitions. For me, this has been a time of great reflection and resourcefulness. Using the found object in my work, I have turned to my immediate environment and am using the everyday objects that seem to typify my lockdown experience and reflect the here and now. There is no point thinking about the things we can no longer do, we have to think positively about what we can do and that has really focused me – the world, for now, is not my oyster, so I am limited to the size of the work I can make and the resources I can use. I am no longer crippled by too much choice and am developing a body of work that is extremely channelled. With this in mind, I created a series of cyanotypes using packaging material from deliveries during lockdown.
The cyanotype process is a photographic process, invented in 1841 by Sir John Herschel to create prussian blue images. In order to create a cyanotype potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate are mixed with water separately and then the two solutions are mixed together in equal parts. The solution is then applied to fabric or paper, in a darkened room and left to dry. To create a print, objects are placed on the material and the cyanotype is printed using UV light. The brighter the UV light, the greater the exposure. Once exposed, the image is processed by rinsing the material in water. Where objects have been placed on the material, the UV light is blocked and once processed, these areas remain white (the original colour of the material) against the blue background of the cyanotype.
During lockdown in particular, I have not always known where my work will take me – it’s often simply a case of getting up every day and providing some structure by simply working, this often turns into a repetitive process and the work grows piece by piece into a larger installation. Having experimented with all sorts of found objects in the home, including glasses, lighters and empty pill packets, I decided that the open weave effect created from various cardboard packaging was the most interesting cyanotype – less literal. I had planned to stitch the pieces together to create a wall hanging, but on a trip to my building’s bin store, I came across a cable reel and an idea was born. Inspired by the installation of ‘Industrial Painting 1958’ by Pinot Gallizio at Tate Modern I decided I wanted the cyanotypes to be stitched together and then wrapped round the cable reel which would be suspended from the ceiling with the fabric draped onto the floor. This is still very much a work in progress and without access to gallery space I have not yet been able to suspend the piece – this will come, in the meantime I am just hoping for less snow and more sunshine so that I can create more cyanotypes!