Jude Sanders SOA – portfolio

Contact the artist

judesanders[at]gmail.com

Exhibition information

My work is inspired by nature and the emotions it provokes. In my recent work I have been exploring moments of stillness and reflection, such as the way the light falls on water, the whisper of wind moving leaves or the joy of a sunny day spent splashing in the water. I am interested in the traces of memory that inhabit spaces, the glimpses of history entangled with place and the feelings and thoughts this triggers. For me memory is not purely represented by objects or people but also embodied in places, spaces and in movement. My images aim to fix a moment in time to create a sense of captured emotions.

The pieces I’ve chosen for this exhibition are all cyanotype images – a camera-less photographic process. Cyanotype was invented by Sir John Herschel in 1841 and produces distinctive blue and white images; it is one of the earliest forms of photography. You might be familiar with the beautiful images of seaweed and other algae at Kew Gardens by Anna Atkins or you may have tried making sun prints at school. The process works by exposing paper coated with iron salts to UV light or sunlight, this creates distinctive blue and white images where areas exposed to the sun produce a deep Prussian blue and those less exposed to sunlight are paler or even white where not exposed to light. This process can be adapted by using other chemicals like vinegar, salt or soap bubbles to create wet cyanotypes, these take much longer to develop (up to 24hrs) but can produce paler blues and a range of yellow and greens or sometimes even reds depending on the light and atmospheric conditions.

I find cyanotype a fascinating process, where you have to surrender control and accept serendipity as part of the artistic process. The results are unpredictable and the failure rate high, but when it works, beautiful unique images are created, each completely original. The images in this exhibition are layered cyanotype, created using ‘found’ elements like fallen leaves, scrap paper or bubble wrap, some are created using double exposures and wet cyanotype or augmented with contact printing.

Media used: cyanotype, acrylic inks, mixed media