Studies in Photography Gallery in Edinburgh is delighted to announce In Search of the Blue Flower, a brand new exhibition and publication by renowned cyanotype artist Alexander Hamilton. In Search of the Blue Flower is set to coincide with World Cyanotype Day 2024 on September 28th, when a special launch event will take place at Studies in Photography Gallery, 6 William Street, Edinburgh, between 2pm and 7pm.
In Search of the Blue Flower: Alexander Hamilton and The Art of Cyanotype brings together almost half a century of Hamilton’s cyanotype based practice, which has seen the Edinburgh based artist explore the wonders of nature and the use of plants as symbols of male power through the cyanotype’s unique photographic properties. The book is the first extensive study of Hamilton’s practice, and features 140 colour and black and white images across 168 pages.
Over half a century, Alexander Hamilton’s extensive cyanotype work has included his critically-acclaimed Peace Rose series in the early 1990s, and his 4 Flowers series, exhibited at the Photographers Gallery in 1994. Moving into the twenty-first century, Hamilton explored complex social issues in The Great Divide (2002), a groundbreaking exhibition at Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery, which looked at the often-unseen effects of airborne pollution on plants.
Hamilton works only with plants, each flower creating a single, unique image through the direct contact process. The plant leaves a trace on the surface of the paper resulting in a cyanotype that cannot be replicated. Between 1989 and 1999, after twenty-five years of research, he perfected these beautiful cyanotypes using this early photographic process.
For Hamilton, the cyanotype process allows him to reveal the story of each plant under his observation. His cyanotypes are not print 'multiples'. As an artist, he is devoted to the practice of creating unique ‘unrepeatable’ images.
Since being discovered in 1842, by Sir John Herschel, the cyanotype is a process involving two chemicals – ammonium iron (lll) citrate and potassium ferricyanide – which, when combined with ultraviolet light, results in a beautiful Prussian Blue image. Images are made without a camera and use a direct contact process.
Early practitioners of the photographic arts, such as Anna Atkins, made images using plant and fabrics-based materials to create similar prints. A more modern-day equivalent would be the artist Man Ray with his ‘Rayograph’ prints.
Since 2015, World Cyanotype Day has been celebrated on the last Saturday in September, with artists and galleries across the globe taking part.
In Search of the Blue Flower: Alexander Hamilton and The Art of Cyanotype is a rich and valuable contribution from Scotland towards raising the profile of this neglected art form.
In Search of the Blue Flower runs at Studies in Photography Gallery is at 6 William Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7NH September 29th- October 20th, 2024. Tuesday – Saturday, 12 noon – 6pm.
A special opening event will take place on September 28th between 2pm and 7pm.
In Search of the Blue Flower: Alexander Hamilton and The Art of Cyanotype
Published by Studies in Photography April 2023 as part of Studies in Photography’s Scottish Photographic Artists Series.
It features 140 colour and black and white images across 168 265mm x 210mm pages.
Available in hardback £30, softback £20.
ISBN 978-1-8383822-6-1
www.studiesinphotography.com
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