CYANOTYPES - 2022

The cyanotype, an iron-based photographic process, was the first simple, practical, non-silver photograph. Discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1842, just three short years after the announcement of the discovery of photography, the cyanotype provided permanent images in an array of rich blues. The 20th century saw the process used for copying engineering and architectural plans and become a constant presence in construction and manufacturing. Our language accepted a new word: blueprint - a word that endures long after the process it described became obsolete. The decline of this industrial use and subsequent revival of the cyanotype process among contemporary artists who, like the very first users, hand-coat their own papers has shown there is a case to be made for the rehabilitation of cyanotype as a fine art printing medium.