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 home, a garden, a glimpse of who you were or could have been. They are printed on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper and toned with a plant or botanical of your choice.
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.
What is included:
· Your toned cyanotype on Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag paper, up to 10 x 8 inches in size
· 15-minute pre-consultation
· Herbal tea bag made using the plant your cyanotype is toned with
· Cyanotype care instructions
· A6 postcard of one of my artworks printed on - 300gsm Recycled Board (FSC)
· Certificate of Authenticity
· A black box tray to store your print prior to display
The process:
15-minute consultation: we will discuss your image, your ideas for the work, and 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.
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 care
Process takes up to 2 weeks. Final print posted via recorded delivery, or collect from my studio in Haggerston, London
The work will be unframed, but I can recommend suitable framers, or help you arrange framing
I would like to exhibit a selection from The Grief Commissions in the future. This is completely optional, and we can discuss whether you would like a duplicate of your image included.
Cyanotypes & Sustainability:
A non-toxic alternative photographic process that produces vibrant, Prussian Blue images by exposing potassium ferricyanide and ferric ammonium citrate to UV light. This Prussian Blue can be toned with botanicals, generally shifting to earthier colours (though most colours are possible).
I use foraged and seasonal botanicals wherever possible. For developing I use water baths rather than running water. Overall my practice has a low impact on the environment – and I am always researching ways to improve
Why I started The Grief Commissions:
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.
Funds from these commissions help me continue creating and developing new work.