The Cyanotype Process (Sun Prints) - Botanics

Cyanotype is one of the oldest photographic processes discovered by John Herschel in 1842 . Unlike prints from Daguerre or Talbot, cyanotype process does not use silver as its main component. The produced photos are blue in colour and often associated with the term ‘sunprint’, implying its use of the sun.

This is a 4-hour workshop for all photo and printmaking enthusiasts that wish to explore the versatile art of cyanotype or sunprinting. Participants will learn simple chemistry and tools to produce blue and white images of found objects/specimens in their immediate environment. The artist will walk through her latest work and thought process through a short urban walk and foraging expedition, in which participants are encouraged to tell their own stories through their objects and later cyanotype images that they produced. 

Each participant will go home with a small cyanotype kit and the prints they made during the workshop.

Who is this workshop for:

All photo and printmaking enthusiasts especially with love for nature and material culture.

Things to bring & consider:

Comfortable walking shoes, brimmed hat, snacks and bottled water. You are encouraged to bring your own botanical specimens, film negatives or small trinkets to experiment with if you wish to do so :) 

More about this workshop:

It is more than just producing photographs. The Art of Sunprinting sheds on new ways of seeing by navigating the process of photo-printing into an everyday performance and nature observations. Discovering and sharing the wonderful in the mundane, all while embracing the unpredictability in our environment is the most important part of this workshop.

The artist will cover the basic tools and techniques of cyanotype printing in the first session of the workshop. Later, during an urban walk in the city, she will share her approach in collecting specimens and reading weather and environmental considerations in creating photo-stories from found objects. Participants will later return to the gallery to create their own sunprint creations. They are encouraged to join in the photo-sharing conversation with their peers. 

At the end of this workshop, it is with hope that participants are able to make meaningful works of art and reflect on the beauty of the ordinary, in abundance and isolation. Perhaps, inspiring more unusual interaction with everyday items and overlooked parts of our environment.