Sentient Blues

Southwest inspired solar prints by Annika Durum,
photosynthesized with love in Southern Utah.

My cyanotypes are created using photography negatives I’ve taken throughout Utah and the southwest. I apply the cyanotyping solutions to cold press water color paper using a combination of foam and or bristled watercolor brushes depending on the desired texture and shape. Using the cyanotype process to develop my photos instead of digital or film prints allows me to play with unique compositions. I consider both a photo’s composition and the composition of my brush strokes, and or compile several negatives together into a singular, unique, unrepeatable collage. Exposing the negatives over the cyanotype solution to UV light allows the sun’s rays to bring my photos to life.

Care Sheet for cyanotype wearables

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“Whitney from the Hills” - Mt Whitney is the tallest point in the contiguous US, but whether you climb to her summit, view her from afar, or camp in her shade, Whitney always brings her own magic. To every trip and every photo. This cyanotype features Mt Whitney, framed by rock formations in Alabama Hills, captured within a brushstroke. Cyanotype is an alternative photography process, first developed in the 1800s. Exposing negatives laid over cyanotype solution and exposed to UV light, allows the desert sun to literally bring this image to life.

Stumbled into this place, this photo, by accident. We were looking for a campsite for the night. An easy stop. We just needed a flat piece of dirt between our planned, scenic destinations, but we found something magical in the middle of nowhere. This door called like Narnia. “There’s something magical, just beyond,” it told me. For me, the magic still calls, even through a still photo. The cyanotype keeps the magic alive.

I love the desert and the desert loves me

What you title this? I love the texture of the leaves, the delicate spines.