Sunburn
Chris McCaw
Series of sunburned unique silver gelatin paper negatives, various dimensions
USA 2007–ongoing
Image above: Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP#552 (Mojave/expanding), 2012, 8" x 10", unique gelatin silver paper negative. Private collection.
“Chris McCaw’s process is a unique set of interdependent steps carried out with custom-built equipment and conventional darkroom processing. He deviates from tradition by exposing gelatin silver printing papers, rather than negative film, in his camera. The immediately apparent burning occurs while the paper is in the camera, the direct result of the sun’s radiation focused by the lens. […] In addition to burning, the gelatin silver paper is exposed to such bright sunlight in the camera that it undergoes solarisation, or the reversal of tonality in portions of the image from overexposure. […] McCaw uses old gelatin silver printing papers, mostly from the 1970s, from a collection of thousands that he has amassed. […] In order to directly expose larger sheets of paper, McCaw had to build his own cameras. […] Except for the characteristic burns, McCaw’s images are latent after exposure. He processes them himself with traditional darkroom techinques and chemistry. […] When ash from the burn is present, he must sometimes agitate the developing bath to keep the ash from settling and disrupting the composition with unevenness in tone.” (Harnly 2015)
“My favorite part is watching smoke come out of the camera during the exposure and the faint smell of roasted marshmallows as the gelatin cooks!” (Chris McCaw, https://www.chrismccaw.com/about-sunburn)
Chris McCaw, born 1971 in Daly City, CA, USA, lives and works in Pacifica, CA, USA.
More images
1. Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP #428 (sunset/sunrise, Arctic Circle, Alaska), 2010, three 20'' x 24'' unique gelatin silver paper negatives. Collection of the Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR.
2. Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP #480 (Yukon), 2011, 8'' x 10'' unique gelatin silver paper negative. Private collection.
3. Chris McCaw, Sunburned GSP #835 (Mojave), 2015, 20'' x 24'', unique gelatin silver paper negative. Private collection.
Reference
Marc Harnly, “Technical Notes,” in Light, Paper, Process. Reinventing Photography, ed. Virginia Heckert (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2015), p. 111.