Raspberry Bebop

Series Statement:

Raspberry Bebop: A Chemical Soaked Elegy is an experimental phytogram and silver gelatin print series that explores the impact of Sulfolane contaminated water on plant life in North Pole, Alaska. With each print I invite viewers to contemplate the long-term consequences of this ongoing environmental crisis that has spanned decades. 

By steeping wild-harvested raspberry leaves in a photoreactive alchemical slurry of washing soda,
lemon juice, red wine, and cherry bark tea I am able to illustrate the hidden toxins absorbed by our local ecosystems. Placing the saturated organic material in direct contact with expired Kodak Ektachrome film allows the plant's internal chemistry to interact with the film’s emulsion layer
creating a redox chemical reaction. This chemical reaction burns the shadows of the leaves onto the surface revealing the residual echoes of ecological trauma caused by this forever chemical.

Process:

Phytogram film negative, split filter and contact printed on gelatin silver paper that have been selectively developed with Kodak Dektol and Van Dyke Brown photochemistry.

Medium:

Gelatin Silver Print