The Grief Commissions
The Grief Commissions
The Grief Commissions are commissioned cyanotype prints made by me of anything you have lost deeply. A tree, a plant, a loved one, a house, a garden - printed on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper and toned with a plant.
The commission includes a free 15-minute consultation around your ideas, and potential botanicals for toning that might resonate with you. My favourite plant to work with is rosemary – associated with remembrance and memory.
Your print can be made from – a digital image, scanned photograph, photographic film or negatives (including 35 mm, medium format and 4 x 5-inch film). Original photographs will be handled with the greatest of care
The commission includes a 15-minute consultation and one toned cyanotype on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper, up to 10 x 8 inches in size. During this process, we will discuss your image, your ideas for the work, and possible botanicals to tone the print with. In my studio, I will make a cyanotype negative from your image. Then, I will coat and expose the cyanotype. Finally, I will tone the cyanotype’s colour in a bath of your chosen botanical.
The process will take from 2 – 4 weeks. The final print will be posted via recorded delivery or collected from my studio in Haggerston, London
The work will be unframed, but I can recommend suitable framers, or I can help you arrange framing via a recommended framer
Cyanotypes are an alternative photographic printing process that produces vibrant blue images by exposing surfaces coated with chemicals that are light-sensitive to UV light. This vibrant blue can then be toned with botanicals, shifting the cyanotype from Prussian blue to earthier tones ranging from browns to reds and subtle greens – the examples here are toned with Rosemary
The process is low-toxic - I like to use foraged and seasonal botanicals as much as possible. I use water baths rather than running water to rinse prints, avoiding waste. Overall my practice has a low impact on the environment – but I am always researching ways to improve
Money made from these commissions goes towards my studio rent and overheads – allowing me more time for development and research
I would like to exhibit a selection of The Grief Commissions in the future. This is completely optional, and we can discuss whether you would like your image included during consultation
These commissions are an extension of my practice which centres around different ways of holding light. I started working with cyanotypes in 2021 after being awarded an A-N bursary to research alternative photographic processes alongside botanical processes.
Currently, I am working on my ‘they concreted over the garden and the cats ran away’ series. These toned works include sections of my Nan’s garden - photographed in the 80’s and 90’s by people now passed. Living with my Nan during childhood - from earliest memories, this garden, though small, was a refuge abundant with interdependent life. Eventually, the house was sold, and the garden concreted over. Making this series and the slow-paced experimental nature of this process has been an outlet for some of my grief and a catalyst for The Grief Commissions.