Cyanotypes of a trashworld
by Miltiadis Igglezos
portfolio special mention call 'EXTINCTION. THE WORLD WITHOUT US', 2019
It seems to me that most available scientific analyses, converge to the fact that if we keep behaving as irresponsibly as we do today towards the environment, and do not change course immediately for the better, we will have succeeded to ensure our long lasting imprint on Earth, even if after we become extinct as a species altogether. Our rubbish have already, long ago now, become integral parts of the ecosystems of river-beds, lakes, seas, polluted subsoil and atmosphere, and affect all forms of flora and fauna on Earth. These rubbish constitute our repulsive gift to the planet that provided, ever since, our sustenance.
I created these cyanotypes-photograms to illustrate this dystopian post-human condition. I chose cyanotype as my medium in this effort for it is one of the least environmentally harmful methods of image production. The sun (whose UV radiation is required for the process), still hovers above bright and clear skies in my homeland. For how long, actually? I collected plenty of small useless objects (forsaken bits and pieces) from around my house, and others I found dumped along the streets, or in the surrounding countryside, such as bits of cellophane, plastic or paper packaging, synthetic fabrics, plastic bags, plastic and metal parts of machinery etc. I made the photograms with these. Finally, any visible trace of color in the photograms is herbal. It implies some kind of contamination. If it is exposed to UV radiation it will gradually fade and probably completely disappear. I am often overwhelmed by this almost childish hope that one day Earth will similarly get rid of our waste...
Review by URBANAUTICA
The images of the series 'Cyanotypes of a trash world' by Miltiadis Igglezos expand the definition of photography although paradoxically bringing it back to its analogical origins. To the slow development of images. An ancient method introduced in 1842 by John Frederick William Herschel (1792 – 1871) an English astronomer, mathematician, and chemist. The cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces the cyan-blue print. The compounds involved are ferric ammonium citrate (the green one) and potassium ferricyanide. Light forms Ferric Ferrocyanide (Prussian Blue) which remains trapped in the fibers of the paper to form the image. The image thus obtained is very stable, but it can degrade in the presence of alkaline substances. plenty of direct sunlight, which can be remedied by keeping it in the dark for a few days. The cyanotype print can be made on any support (fabric, paper, wood).The Greek photographer reconstructs sections of landscape in which the blue color projects us directly onto the sea and the sky, over a pristine environment. However, this vision is contaminated by waste deposits, forgotten objects that he himself has collected. This performative act, already significant and revolutionary in itself, is then impressed on sensitive support. As if to manifest that increasing technocratic will in the opulent society which results in the act of contaminating and polluting the beauty of nature. We are not facing an image but its construction. And it is in this process that we find almost as allegories to discover important messages. Above all, the vision of a world thrown away as garbage and that hides the risk of a human species that treats itself as a waste.
A small hope remains, however. This invites us to reflect on the role of technology and on what it can still do for us, rather than vice versa. As the author put it: «If it is exposed to UV radiation it will gradually fade and probably completely disappear. I am often overwhelmed by this almost childish hope that one day Earth will similarly get rid of our waste...». This invites us to reflect on the reversibility of progress. A concept that seems almost an oxymoron in these times when our species looks like a train running with broken brakes.