I spent a day on the 1st of November 2019 in the University of Hertfordshire colour darkroom and had a taught introduction with Michael Wright, postgraduate tutor on the experimental techniques he had learnt and use in his practice.
Michael showed us how the colour enlargers work and the various settings. We started with them at white light setting, cyan turned down and magenta and yellow at 50%. Mike suggested to start on an exposure of 5 seconds. I had slides from my undergraduate Monochrome Line installation. These used an analogue tv, filmed with distortion until it turned colour. My initial results can be seen below.
The images came out purple and pink, so decided to produce a definite series of images going through the process of interchanging the materials with phlox, net and my photographic to experiment with texture. Next, I reset the enlarger with the neutral setting and continued to make a further series of images. For consistency I used the five second exposure for each image.
Within film and photographic aspects of my practice always been interested in getting colour from the monochrome. Colour and its connection with the dream world is another avenue I am interested in, so using colour photograms to draw in pure light fits in well with this concept. I used cathode ray television for the filming of the installation starter piece from this and in my undergraduate degree had used c-type prints shot from television screens in my graduation show.
Upon reflection I am trying to conjure memory images, this work being more in the realm of the beginnings of something new in my practice. I recognise a definite influence with recall of Nam June Paik’s video installation Beuys-Voice (June Paik, 1987) I saw at the Hayward Gallery, Video Works 1963-88, in 1988; through to the recent experience of seeing Susan Hiller’s numinous and glowing television work at Matt’s Gallery was having an influence on my thinking and image making for this series of photograms.
Fig 1 Beuys Voice, June Paik, J (1988). Video Works 1963-88, London: South Bank Centre
Tina Culverhouse 