Littoral Drift series
Meghann Riepenhoff
Large-scale dynamic cyanotypes made in collaboration with the landscape
USA 2013-ongoing
Image above: Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Ecotone #32 (Bainbridge Island, WA 10.11.16, Draped with Sun Showers and Drizzle), 2016, Dynamic Cyanotype © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
“Meghann Riepenhoff’s experimentations with cameraless photographic processes break down the elements of photography to its basics – paper, light, chemistry and chance. Her Littoral Drift series revisits and reconsiders the history of the cyanotype process, linking her to early pioneers in photography and science, as well as to contemporary photography’s return to hand-crafted, one- of-a-kind works of art.
Works from Riepenhoff’s series, Littoral Drift, are large-scale dynamic cyanotypes made in collaboration with the landscape. Rather than photographing a scene with film and camera, the artist takes direct imprints from nature. After coating sheets of paper with homemade cyanotype emulsion, she exposes them to the elements, partially submerging them in ocean waves, draping them over a tree branch during a rainstorm or burying them in snow pack. Water, sunlight and sediments, such as sand, salt, detritus and impurities, activate the photosensitive chemicals to create fluid, painterly abstractions of the landscape in Prussian blue or white. The prints’ titles indicate the location, date and conditions under which they were made, anchoring each in a specific moment in time and underscoring the performative aspect of the series.
Riepenhoff only partially fixes her cyanotypes, leaving residual photosensitive chemistry to react to light and the environment. A print’s colors may fluctuate in intensity or salt crystals may bloom on the surface of the paper, subtly changing the artwork over time. The shifting qualities of these ‘living’ prints are both a desirable aesthetic outcome and reflect themes of impermanence, time and mutability that are consistent throughout Riepenhoff’s work.” (Yossi Milo Gallery, Press Release, 2017, online: http://www.yossimilo.com/exhibitions/2017_03-meghann_riepenhoff/)
Meghann Riepenhoff, born in 1979 in Atlanta, GA, and currently living in Bainbridge Island, WA, and San Francisco, CA.
More images
1. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Ecotone #1 (Bainbridge Island, WA 04.04.16, Draped with Shower and Drizzle), 2016, Dynamic Cyanotype © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
2. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Littoral Drift Nearshore #220 (Springridge Road, Bainbridge Island, WA 05.05.15, Reused Water, Exhausted Chemistry, and Sand from #209 Scattered and Splashed), 2015, Thirty-Five Dynamic Cyanotypes © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
3. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Littoral Drift #52 (Recto/Verso, Rodeo Beach, Sausalito, CA 09.01.13, One Wave, Poured and Buried), 2013, Dynamic Cyanotype © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
4. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Littoral Drift #417 (Recto/Verso, South Beach, Lake Michigan, Sheboygan, WI 01.06.16, Five Overwash Waves, Draped Over Suncups and Corn Snow), 2016, Dynamic Cyanotype © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
5. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Littoral Drift Nearshore #354 (Springridge Road, Bainbridge Island, WA 11.19.15, Drizzle, Three Hours), 2015, Dynamic Cyanotype © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York
6. Meghann Riepenhoff, from the series Littoral Drift, Littoral Drift Nearshore #464 (Bainbridge Island, WA 12.07.16, Seven Simulated Waves, Freezing and Melting), 2016, Forty-Eight Dynamic Cyanotypes © Meghann Riepenhoff, Courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York