Nuturing Artists

“Nurturing Artists” was conceived as a collaborative series.

I created a series of photogram portraits of fellow artists by capturing shadows of their body language, tools and work.

It turns out that many artists (including photographers) are solitary beings. So, working together was a new experience. Each session was great fun, and a competitive streak emmerged with many of my colleagues trying to outdo each other.

Zambian painter Victor Sitali poses for his photogram portrait.

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Zambian painter Victor Sitali poses for his photogram portrait. Each exposure takes 12 minutes in Dubai’s sun. Because of the outdoor temperature in winter, these images can only be made between September and March.

Each image in the Nuturing Artists series is captured on a sheet of cotton. These had to be washed six times to remove the manufacturing bleaches. Then they were treated with light sensitive cyanotype chemistry.

Nurturing artists pays homage to Anna Atkins work capturing plants and flowers in her parent’s garden in 1842. Just as a gardener tends to garden of flowers and beautiful plants, arts foundations nurture and oversee the growth of artists.