Xiao
Portraits of the Photographic Chemicals
Hand finished Silver Mirroring gelatin prints, 20x24 inch
2024
My artistic practice includes image-making by the alchemy of photography and the research into the phenomenon of silver mirroring degradation. I have developed an alternative technique as a craft, Silver Mirroring Toning; it restores the shiny silver to the surface of silver gelatin materials. The process transforms the silver mirroring degradation of photographs into a mesmerizing visual effect, and even a protection layer for the analogue prints.
I focus on silver mirroring due to its unique metallic sheen. While a properly processed silver gelatin print or film is only B&W without any visible trace of the metal, a silver mirroring print produces colourful sheens of the silver, based on light reflection, scattering and the viewing directions. By the technique, I aim to amplify the inherent metallic nature of the photographic material and bring silver- the base of analogue photography art- to the forefront as an artistic element.
The imagery in my silver mirroring prints is formed by the patterns of crystallized photographic chemicals or the movements of the liquids. Photography is typically applied as a tool to present external subjects, neglecting the most original and essential materials involved in its process, e.g. developer, fixative, silver, etc. My works make the essentials visually prominent, enabling analogue photography to speak for itself, with the image content depicting the very materials that created it.