Helena Gallivan / Light Weeps In Blue

Light Weeps In Blue explores the universal experience of loss, memory, and the gradual processing of grief. The work centers on cyanotype printing, one of the oldest alternative processes in photography. Cyanotype solution is coated onto raw cotton fabric, a material chosen for its softness and connection to domesticity and intimacy. This process is time consuming and unpredictable, with no two prints ever being the same, creating unique pieces that with their raw borders are susceptible to unraveling over time. The four medium cyanotypes explore symbolic representations of loss in the artist's personal visual language. The image Lane was taken as a test shot for a family portrait in the artist’s grandmother’s driveway, creating an unintentional representation of disappearance.

River Light, the largest cyanotype print, is composed of sixteen quilted rectangles, and transforms an image of sunlight on water into abstract constellations. Each rectangle of the larger image was exposed to uv light separately, the different exposure times creating varying shades of blue. The quilt is a reference to the artist’s own experience of being given a handmade quilt as a baby, and to the general emotional significance of quilting as a vessel for love and memory.

This body of work includes an element of the artist’s own poetry, as well as images made from large format negatives. These three black and white images were created using a view camera and inkjet printed. They move away from the direct confrontation of loss into acceptance and appreciation for the beauty outside of pain.