Alice Cazenave "Observation of breath"

"Surveillance"

This series combines my interest in biology with camera-less photography. 'Breathe' is a Pelargonium print created through a new process I have developed, by manipulating photosynthesis in leaves to create portraits. The latent image is ephemeral unless fixed, and reminds us of the scope of natural processes. It is part of a cyclic process which, when interrupted, can provide an offering in the form of a temporary photograph. The remainder of the series presents works made using leaves as negatives. I have created unique camera-less photographs which trace the leaves' vascular systems; a network, which could not otherwise be photographed through a lens. This work celebrates the materiality of the photograph, in a world governed by digital images which are everywhere and nowhere in the same instance. It also comments on the beauty of natural form which is forgotten in today's society which is obsessed with technology and mechanisation.