Plant-Based Chemigrams

This ongoing body of work investigates the chemical and political lives of contested materials through direct contact with light-sensitive paper. Substances used so far include pepper spray, industrially produced sunscreen, and motor oil. The substances themselves act as resist and developer, registering their presence as form and tone on the photographic surface.

Development is carried out using plant based photographic developers derived from garden grown specimens, positioning handcraft and low toxicity process in deliberate tension with the industrial and often harmful origins of the primary materials. The chemigram form, historically situated at the intersection of painting, chemistry, and photography, provides a framework for examining what photosynthetic and petrochemical systems leave behind when brought into direct contact.

The series remains open-ended.