Notes from the Venice Lagoon, 2016 (ongoing)
A document of the contested space of the salt marshes and the Venetian Lagoon, from its instigation, I knew this project would take place over as long a period of time as possible. The challenge was to produce a body of photographs that were cohesive and spoke of a complex place. My practice has always embraced different photographic processes; the cyanotype, the objectograph and I use a variety of cameras, whatever is appropriate for the idea. I was asking myself what knowledge of the lagoon can be translated by these different photographic techniques? What knowledge of the plants can be gleamed from these different photographs? A physical trace (a cyanotype or photogram) is very different to a camera recorded image, they may or may not be a clear depiction. I’m interested in recording the lagoons voice through close observation and by revisiting.
Black and white photographs chart the constantly changing edges of the salt marshes, the challenges and coexistence of land and water in flux, that of a delicately balanced ecosystem. The cyanotypes are made in situ, a form of ‘photogenic drawing’; the plants (here sea lavender) are placed on top of the pre-coated paper, the sunlight activates the exposure, the lagoon water washes it, it becomes blue, a transformation.
Specimens are collected and brought back to the darkroom where I make objectographs, unique highly detailed jewel like negative prints. The darkroom becomes a site of experiment, the layered photographs occurred when a negative of a plant is enlarged, during the exposeure time the plant is placed on the latent paper under the light source; image and plant react, a photograph and photogram are brought together.
In 2016, Jane Da Mosto and I collaborated for an exhibition bringing together photographs and texts, reflections of the lagoon.
Ricerca sul campo della Laguna di Venizia / Field Studies of the Venetian Lagoon
The exhibition was on the agricultural island of Sant’ Erasmo, Torre Massimiliano, (at the fort), a circular stronghold that looked out across the lagoon, it was an ideal setting for the exhibition. From the 14th century when the first stronghold was built this site has seen many different constructions, the most recent build as part of the Austrian Empire in the 1840, recently renovated during the 1990’s. This was the first time that I exhibited different processes together; the cyanotype, the objectograph the combined and straight photographs.
Nella Veduta / In the View
In 2018, I exhibited at Serra dei Giardini, a 19th century glasshouse recently renovated by the municipality of Venice in 2006. This is a cultural project and exhibition space, alongside a place for the sale of plants.
