Why I stopped dark room photography

It was the chemicals. I could no longer bear the smell. Nor the pollutants. The health warnings on the bottles of developer, stop and fix. Even the cyanotype chemicals, supposedly safe, I question. So while I enjoyed so much the process of the tangible side of ‘old fashioned’ photographic processes, it was making me feel sick; I knew the chemicals I was using were detrimental to the health of mother earth. And what doesn’t serve mother earth doesn’t serve anything or anyone, no matter how inspired (in my humble opinion) the art.

I’m one of those who stopped using bleach in her home many years ago. I’ve never liked the idea of pesticides, glyphosates, the profit-focused business models of those who supply these chemicals. I feel they do cause harm, because whatever’s harmful to natural processes is harmful to all those who dwell here on this beautiful planet. Read the label, it’ll tell you to keep pets indoors while you spray…and yet, we spray our crops with it and say it’s ok to eat what’s been sprayed. Intuitively, to me, the use of these chemicals has never made sense.

I heard a story some time ago, it came from Buddhism if I remember rightly. It said that if we were to be still for long enough, we would notice that nature provides us with everything we need. For free.

Much of our rainwater now contains glyphosates. Imagine what that’s doing to all the creatures who dwell here and who, like us, rely on clean water and good soil for good health. The health of our own bodies is reliant on our gut microbiome, which is reliant upon the health of the soil’s microbiome.

Norwich castle in beetroot ink on organic cotton rag paper: bio-degradeable organic art

Everything is connected. I’m on a journey to find a way of making art that’s more sustainable in the way that everything in nature is sustaining and self-sustainable. Nature knows best.

Incidentally, Isabella Tree’s story of Knepp estate’s rewilding, a way of farming which works in harmony with mother nature, producing clean water naturally, with no guv subsidies, and no inputs, is coming out in cinemas near you! Naturally, they won’t be mainstream cinemas, it’ll be more your alternative cinemas like Picturehouse. Go see it, it’s called Wilding. It’ll help you see that thriving is actually more possible than we’ve been taught to think; on all levels.