Palermo Spirale is an innovative project, a city portrait of cyanotype photographs that celebrates the city of Palermo in Sicily through a structured presentation of seven specific locations arranged along a spiral mapped over the city. Arenella, an ancient fishing village and resort situated on the edge of Palermo harbour, marks the outermost point of this spiral. This project captures the spirit of this historic Mediterranean city by providing unique perspectives from the selected locations, presenting Palermo in a new and unconventional light. Using alternative media to create the final images adds layer of enchantment to the resulting visual representations.
Cyanotype photographs: the process
These images are not mere photographs but a testament to the meticulous artistry of the cyanotype process, which dates back to 1842. A solution of photosensitive iron salts is delicately painted upon watercolour paper. Once dry, a digital negative is carefully sandwiched with the paper and illuminated with ultraviolet light. The resulting blue image is a cyanotype photograph, a unique and captivating art form. I then lightly bleached the image before toning it in a solution made from sumac leaf tannin extract, adding depth and character to the composition with warm grey dark shades and lighter yellow-brown hues.
Camera technique
I captured these photos using a 1974 edition Zenza Bronica 6×6 film camera, shooting on Bergger 400 film stock. I then photographed the negatives with a camera setup and retouched them in Camera One before printing them as full-size digital negatives.
