Chrysotypes

Traditional monochrome photographs are based on silver.  However, in the earliest days of the art, photographers explored the use of a variety of other metals. Chrysotype is based on gold, which is the element in the chemical mix which provides the colour range.  It is a lengthy and complex process, but if you get it right, you are rewarded with beautiful ‘split tones’, from pinkish browns to slatey blue highlights.

Femininity & Memory

Femininity and Memory was a solo exhibition using this process. The images use the soft tones of chrysotype to present vintage jewellery and fashion accessories. These treasures hoarded by my mother, who lived until she was 102 years, gave me some sense of what it was like to feel fashionable and beautiful when she was a young woman.  The images utilised ambient light only, as they sought to capture the warm glow of memory.  They appear without context, which is often lost as memory fades.