SCENTS OF EVANESCENCE portfolio

SCENTS OF EVANESCENCE # ANTHOTYPES part 1

BY FENIA KOTSOPOULOU

“To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s mortality, vulnerability, mutability. precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” Susan Sontag

In 2016, during an artistic residency at UNIDEE-Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella (Italy), an idea started brewing around alternative photographic processes-transient memories-ephemeral documentation-impermanence. Through a brief research, I discover the “anthotype process� and fascinated by the simplicity and complexity of the oldest image-making technique, I started experimenting with plants and flowers in order to create anthotypes, in collaboration with artist Daz Disley.

The basic premise of the anthotype process is to create images through the use of photosensitive plant material. This process was originally invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. An emulsion is made from crushed flower petals or any other light-sensitive plant, fruit or vegetable. A coated sheet of paper is then dried. Place some material, for example, leaves or a transparent photo positive on the paper and expose to direct full sunlight until the image part not covered by the material is bleached out by the sun rays. The color remains or fades in the shadowed parts. The paper remains sensitive against such rays, which means that the image cannot be fixed. but eventually will fade out, disappear... Anthotypes challenge the conviction that photography can fix an event for an unlimited period of time. Like dance, photography can be ephemeral. n 2017, during my participation to the the ART WEEK | Workshop Series 2017: Joint Performance Summer Class by La Pocha Nostra & VestAndPage, in Venice(Italy), I started taking the first portraits which I could use later for anthotype-experiments. During the photo-session, I ask from the participant to close their eyes while the hear my question. Always the same question about one only memory that the person would like to save. I sit opposite with my camera and I wait in silence, until I feel the moment to take only one single photo. The participant writes (anonymously) in a piece of paper their response.

The image will become an anthotype and the text is added to a collective text.

During 2018, I continued taking portraits and gathering text responses in different contexts and places (UK, Greece, Italy, Germany, Netherlands ).

On Decemeber 2018 I collected 101 portraits and texts. were collected and I have already started the next series. 70 anthotypes have been completed (dimensions: 10cm x 15cm) Links: https://vimeo.com/285639142 https://www.virtualgallery.com/galleries/fenia_kotsopoulou_a17264183/scents_of_evanescence_s17321 https://feniakotsopoulou.wixsite.com/artist/performanceledresearch

KATERINA G.

KATERINA F.

MARCEL

NINO

KOSTIS

EIRINI

GIULIA

JOAN

MARIANNA

BECKY

OOZING GLOOP

GIUSEPPE

SAM

MITROS

DIMITRA

DOROTA

BETH

ELISA

DHIMAS

ELENI

SINI

GIUSEPPE

TIA

RICCARDO

DEBS

BARBARA

FEDERICO

FABRITIA

MICHAEL

ROBERTA

MAIRY

GRAHAM

SARA K.

GIO

LUCIA

VALIA

MORENO

ALEX

AMY

KAI

SABRINA

MARIAM

SARA S.

VENA

INGRID

FREYA

MARCUS

BARBARA

TE0

MARY

MILAN

MEG

CRISTIANA

EMALIA

IMKE

DAIANE

SAULAMAN

MARISA

CAITLIN

KAROLINA

TE0 G.

MAEVE

IVANA

CRISTA

TARA

BECCA

INGEBORG

GARY

CASSANDRA

ANDY

THODORIS

IRO

ANDREA

VERENA

FRANCESCO

ENOK