Reimagined Landscapes
DESCRIPTION
This work by Joseph was borne out of threads of enquiry and experimentation, and an almost obsessive need to continue to remain creative and somehow escape the initial pandemic lockdown in March 2020. Attempting to stay connected to the environments he was denied access to. But, still wanting to work within the loose confines of photographic processes, exploring their simplest forms – subject, (sun)light and a receptive material.
One such experiment to create images using the cyanotype process, whilst technically successful, he found dissatisfying in its outcome. So, initially in frustration, Joseph began to explore more direct physical manipulation of the cyanotype materials and found he was able to create abstracts expressions of landscape forms. Forms that constantly colour shifted as the UV light from the sun caused reactions in the cyanotype sensitiser materials, creating image sequences that often spanned many days of exposure to the elements. In some sense these works took on a life of their own, each time they are exposed to light they morph and colour shift. He allowed his imagination to run wild, bringing together memories of landscapes visited and responses to current climate issues – re-imagining the landscape in his mind’s eye. With the only limit being that of his imagination and not the physical confines of the lockdown.