SPARK #49: In There - Low Impact Photography

Join current gallery exhibitors Steve Sutton and Emelia Hewitt for a tour of Out Here at Castlefield Gallery followed by a practical session making cameraless photographic prints at the near-by Venture Arts studios.

Steve Sutton will give a brief intro to Out Here, which brings together artists exploring our relationship with nature through drawing, film, painting, performance, photography, prints, sculpture and site-specific artwork. Their practices are grounded in researching the interaction between the human and non-human, often spending time going out into nature or working directly with natural materials.

We’ll then take a short stroll to the Venture Arts studios in Hulme, where Emelia Hewitt will host a practical workshop on low-impact cameraless photographic techniques such as anthotypes and lumen prints. The anthotype process was discovered in 1839 by the astronomer and experimental photographer John Herschel, and involves photosensitive material from plants to create images. Lumen prints involve placing organic materials, like leaves or flowers, onto light-sensitive photographic paper and exposing it to sunlight, and can be fixed with salt water rather than the usual photographic fixers.

All materials will be provided and participants will make at least two prints.

Emelia Hewitt’s practice combines photography, textiles, and illustration to explore the relationship between image-making, materials, and the natural world. She is inspired by the history of photography, from its role in documenting everyday life during the 19th and 20th centuries to its early connections with science, where photography was used to study and classify nature.

In recent works, Hewitt has experimented with cameraless photographic processes, including cyanotypes, anthotypes, and chlorophyll printing, creating images through direct contact with light-sensitive materials. She also develops more sustainable photographic methods by using natural ingredients and reducing the need for chemical processes. She brings together subject matter and material, allowing the physical qualities of the medium to become an important part of the meaning behind each piece. Her practice highlights connections between photography, ecology, and alternative forms of making.

Steve Sutton works with naturally occurring found materials such as fallen trees, beach pebbles, and animal remains, as well as appropriated materials discarded by other people. His work is influenced by a longstanding physical relationship with the land. Years spent working with wood and other materials to maintain a farm have earned him many skills and experiences that inform his art practice. He responds carefully to the characteristics and possibilities of his materials, bringing them together with a mixture of labour intensive techniques and delicate but purposeful placement.

Image credit: Emelia Hewitt - Untitled lumen print fixed in salt water

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Access Info
Castlefield Gallery and Venture Arts are both wheelchair accessible. 

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SPARK

The SPARK network was set up by Castlefield Gallery in 2022 to facilitate a Greater Manchester/North West-based network of artists wanting to intervene in the climate crisis. The gallery initiated SPARK in response to the high demand for places on the 2021/22 SUSTAIN programme focussed on low carbon artmaking. 

SPARK #46 follows SPARK sessions at Manchester Art Gallery, Rogue, The Birley (Preston), Eccles Friends Meeting House, Manchester Museum, AIR Gallery, Paradise Works, Editional Studio, Cadishead and Little Woolden Moss, Gallery Oldham, the John Rylands Library, Dunham Massey, Lindow Moss, Castlefield Viaduct, Gallery Oldham, The Atkinson, Castlefield Gallery, Northern Roots, Salford Museum and Art Gallery; and a group exhibition and events programme at Rogue Studios.

Castlefield Gallery continues to provide admin and co-ordination support via its Artist Environmental Lead, Jane Lawson, as well as promotional support. 

https://www.instagram.com/sparkartistsnetwork/