Acetate of hotel images and cyanotypes:

For the next development in my project I decided to print of my photographs of the hotel hallways onto acetate and use them to create some more cyanotypes onto calico. Again I used natural UV light for this and set up a table in a relatively sunny spot in my garden. Unfortunately, the wind managed to catch the corner of most of them knocked them off the table onto the floor and these pieces were exposed without the acetate. I did manage to get two cyanotypes that had some sort of image on them, one better than the other. 

This first image is the one that I think is the most successful out of the two, I have had to iron the calico to be able to take a clear photograph as the the material has become creased while it was drying. The acetate that was used is and image focusing on the mirrors of the hotel hallway and I think that the overall result is nice and you are able to tell what it is. However, the image is not as clear as I would have liked, maybe because the acetate was not dark enough and let too much light through. This first image is faded, the blue tones are strong around the edges but within the actual picture they fade to a washed out lighter tone. The detail and lines that are present within the work are fuzzy and slightly blurred, they give off the impression of an image rather than concrete evidence of one. I think that these elements soften the image and invoke this dream like and surreal atmosphere. The faded image is reminiscent of a dream you can't quite remember. 

I believe that the second cyanotype is less successful than the first, there is not as much of an image to look at as it seems the majority of the detail has been washed out, however, the carpeted hallway and floor can be seen reasonably clearly. I do think that this work has some compelling qualities to it as the bright white background contrasts heavily with the patchy blue of the image. Again, the edges are fuzzy allowing there to be a softer aspect to the work and the creases that have not been able to be ironed out create this rougher texture within the piece. In fact, these creases remind me of shattered glass making the image seem fragile and fractured. I quite like that the background of the work is so white, it's surreal and it makes it seem as if you have walked right into a dream or another world. 

I think that there have been some successes when it comes to this experiment, the contrast and colours work well and they both capture the surreal aspect of my project. Moving forward I would like to improve on the quality of the acetate image, by adjusting the contrast on photoshop. I think that leaving them out in the sun longer would also help to get a stronger image for the cyanotype.