Blue Sky 9

“In my series, “World’s Shadows”, (2009-2011) I utilize "cyanotypes" a photo-image making process invented over 150 years ago: I make unique cyanotypes on large format canvas by brushing the fabric with a recipe of chemicals. After drying the fabric, images placed in front of the fabric are captured in silhouette; and, within a few minutes of exposure to the sun’s ray’s negative images, or shadows, start to form. Areas not exposed to light remain white while those exposed to the light result in different tones of blue, depending on the varying degrees of transparency of the objects.

In July,2009 I started to experiment with photogram making, documenting shadows of different forms, and the resulting images amazed me. Beside the wide variety of material objects, under the sun, I also discovered a world constituted by the interaction of material objects and shadows, noting our eyes’ attraction to material objects and our tendency to disregard the shadows.

I believe I am among the first to use cyanotypes of living and material objects of such large format.

I will continue to explore this non-digital, unique photogram print methodology, as a means of interacting with and memorializing the temporary environment that surrounds me in Beijing. “

- Zhang Dali