Words and Images by Tia Levitan
Journey into an artist-led, research community developing low-toxicity chemistries and practices in photography.
Are you an artist seeking innovative avenues? A farmer connecting to the earth? Someone with a love of nature? Or simply an interested reader? Discover The Sustainable Darkroom where the innovative crossover of art and science meets; an invitation to connect the worlds of photography and environmental awareness, pushing the conventional boundaries of our economic, ecological and artistic worlds.
I had the honour of meeting with one of its founders, Hannah Fletcher, to talk about this small but impactful charity now in its fifth year, who shared with me her thoughts and stories of how The Sustainable Darkroom came into being.
The charity is reachable across the UK and has strong ties with Cornwall. Project lead Edd Carr joined two years after Hannah started the charity and is a well-known artist and graduate of Falmouth University, whose speciality is in adapting photographic processes into moving images. Alice Cazenave became involved at the same time with more of a focus on the more scientific side of photography, exploring the interactions between ecologies and how they link to the analogue industry. Hannah’s involvement investigates the relationship between photographic and nonphotographic materials. The three came together quite organically. Hannah was sharing a studio with Alice, when she started to run residencies in research. Alice signed up as one of the first residents at The Sustainable Darkroom and not long after Edd also began his own research residency. Moving to Leeds when his residency was over, he set up his own darkroom built under the principles he had learned. The space in Leeds later became known as the Northern Sustainable Darkroom and in the span of a year Edd and Alice became integral team members.
Participants can immerse themselves in a multifaceted experience; whether purchasing a book, engaging in enriching residencies, or tapping into a wellspring of knowledge through their Patreon subscription. Every penny goes back into the cause, whether that be for advance publication, nurturing upcoming residencies or establishing essential funding. As a charity, the aim is clear: to unlock larger funding pools in order to make creativity more accessible, as well as introducing the ecological side of photography to a wider demographic. Hannah told me that: “photography has a long history with colonialism and a very male, white dominated pedestal. With this in mind we wanted to try and break down a lot of the negative constructs and ideologies, steering away from the unsettling trend of photography becoming a more privileged and inaccessible art form. Accessibility very much intertwines with our ideas around sustainability. We want information to be accessible, both in terms of geography and demographic. As soon as something becomes accessible to everyone, in terms of equipment and knowledge, it immediately becomes more sustainable due to its longevity.”
Sustainable examples include using washing soda, which can be used to experiment with different textures and colours in cyanotypes, or employing the sun which affects exposure and transfer of images onto different surfaces. Water too, which can be used in many alternative photographic processes is another example and an integral part of the sustainability ethos that The Sustainable Darkroom embodies.
The charity offers a wide range of workshops, from theory-based explorations to hands-on practical sessions. Participants are invited to join the dynamic trio and other residencies in trying some of the following processes: anthotypes, chlorophyll printing, developing films with plants, plant-based chemistries, phytograms, pelargonium printing, soil chromatography, botanical cyanotype and more.
Anthotypes have been quite a hit with students interested in these alternative processes. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but it is also cost-efficient and completely fascinating. The process itself is quite simple. By mixing the juice of plants or food with alcohol, you then spread it on the surface of your choice. You then add the negative image onto the surface and leave it outside for a few days to catch the UV rays from the sun.
The significant online audience has helped The Sustainable Darkroom create an annual workshop week where they move around the UK, embodying their commitment to making their offerings accessible. While development and research is key within the project, the trio are also keen to disseminate their teaching as much as possible.
Beyond the allure of the aesthetic outcomes, these workshops serve a greater purpose: they seek to revolutionise the very essence of how we perceive photography. It is not just about the visual appeal they evoke, but it is about reshaping our expectations and challenging conventional notions of achievability. Additionally, rather than always looking for the next technical advancement, there is the endeavour to push the potential of what our natural environment can already offer us. Hannah goes on to say, “we are not the keepers of knowledge, we are the facilitators of collective growth.” This reflects the charity’s pillar of being an open community, sharing ideas and innovation with the common goal of shared benefit.
Follow The Sustainable Darkroom on Instagram to open up a whole new world of innovative changes. Or gain access to exclusive troubleshooting sessions led by the team on Discord, where each month they dive into a different technique to address practical issues such as home-made developers, testing and temperatures.
