Anthotypes is a process that was created by Sir William Herchel in 1841. This method uses blended plant matter such as flower petals to create light-sensitive prints. When exposed to light these prints bleach, leaving an image with a positive to positive print. This process has a range of exposure times depending on plant material but my anthotypes were exposed for seven days in bright sunlight. These images are ephemeral and have no ways of preserving their quality outside of storing in the dark. 

When choosing imagery for this project I was interested in exploring our connection to sex and flowers. The iconography and relationships between sex and flowers have been present throughout most of art history. Early painting of Mary with lilies to show her innocence, Manet’s Olympia, who's rejecting flowers from suitors, Edward Weston’s peppers, Maplethorpes erotic blooms, and Georgia O'Keeffe who is most known for her floral paintings.  My anthotype focuses on the connection to the dye and the image used. I used Azalea blooms even though when ingested these flowers are toxic.  I made images that express the beauty of experiences and the connection but this does not remove the initial toxicity of the processes. This is supposed to create ties to ideas of duality of sex and  toxic relationships, sexual activity, and blue films, ect. 

Malin Fabbri. “Anthotypes : Explore the Darkroom in Your Garden and Make Photographs Using Plants.” Stockholm, Alternativephotography.com, 2012.