Chusan palm blues XVI 2020

About the artwork

An artwork layering Trachycarpus leaves, shadow and light. Inspired during the first Covid lockdown in 2020.

Our legacy and that of previous minds influence Marianne Nix’s work. In this case, plant explorers and the work of Anna Atkins, a botanist, who made cyanotype images of the flora she collected in the 19th Century, earning her place as a founding mother of photography.

Plant explorers brought treasures from overseas centuries ago and continue to do so. At the time they had little idea of the impact of their journeys and their discoveries on the future of the planet.

Finding the exotic Himalayan Asian palm Trachycarpus grows in London gardens, Marianne is inspired to use them to create contemporary works using one of the earliest photographic techniques developed.

The paper is exposed to sunlight, washed in water with added vinegar or lemon juice to deepen the blue colour and dried flat for a few days under heavyweights. Each exposure is unique, dependent on the weather, the day of the year, the duration and time of day when exposed to sunlight.