A couple of months ago my dear friend João de Macedo (big wave surfer, head of Hope Zones Foundation and much more) invited me to showcase some of my photos at the already iconic Sintra Ocean & Surf Film Fest. Feeling over saturared by everyday digital life (photo editing, emails, social media and so on) I thought about producing something different from the printed photos of dreamy waves and lineups that I usually take to these events. Cyanotipe *, a process that I’ve heard about three decades ago as a student at Ar.Co. art school, seemed like the way to go: I would get rid of the computer and phone screen for some hours and still produce something different and new (for most people) that would fit perfectly into the festival general vibe of creating ocean awareness through art and science. First step was choosing the right image, following the only requirements provided by João on his proposal: “It has to be in Sintra and ocean related”. Fair enough, I had some photos from my beloved Praia Grande so I went through the hard drives (not that easy running away from the digital life) and got to a final selection of eight photos that could fit the purpose. It was time to get busy with the formulas, paper, negatives and sunlight… First prints were ok and after some tests I was able to choose just one image, and it felt like I was getting there but, somehow, the 24X32 cm prints seemed too small and self-evident, and I just knew something was missing… Maybe go big? A big cyanotype could be the answer even if I wasn’t sure of what was the question, but had a couple of free days in my agenda so… Of course the initially predicted hours of work turned into a long process of trial and error that went on for days, until I could finally see something meaningful taking shape: a 128X225 cm mosaic of 36 individual printed cyanotypes, making for a final image (that you can only perceive when looking at it from a distance) of Praia Grande classic landscape with a surfer leaving the ocean at low tide.
Looking back at the whole process and the final result, I can’t help thinking how it relates to ocean awareness and protection:
we need time to find the best solutions for each problem we face.
science - like so many other things - it’s all about trial and error
we need distance to see the big picture
technology is a huge help, but so is getting real people involved
You can visit the Sintra Ocean & Surf Film Fest from June 26 to 29 at Praia das Maçãs, Sintra. Cinema, music, artists, talks and much more. Free admission.
Get to know more about the festival and the Hope Zones Foundation here
* from Wikipedia: “The cyanotype (from Ancient Greek: κυάνεος, kyáneos 'dark blue' and τύπος, týpos 'mark, impression, type') is a slow-reacting, photographic printing formulation sensitive to a limited near-ultraviolet and blue light spectrum, the range 300 nm to 400 nm known as UVA radiation.[1] It produces a monochrome, blue-coloured print on a range of supports, and is often used for art and reprography in the form of blueprints. For any purpose, the process usually uses two chemicals - ferric ammonium citrate or ferric ammonium oxalate, and potassium ferricyanide, and only water to develop and fix. Announced in 1842, it is still in use.” Know more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotype