Inspiration:
This artwork was inspired by respected academic and tragic heroine Hypatia. One of the last greatthinkers of ancient Alexandria, she was one of the first women to study and teach mathematics,philosophy and astronomy.Widely known for her love of learning and public speaking, her reputation as a great female scholar,honoured astronomer and prominent thinker, transformed Hypatia into a feminist icon and empoweringrole model for female intellectuals in modern times.
Technique:
Hypatia’s Scholarly World XLwas created by constructinga hand-cut collage using female photographicportraiture, a photogram of a wasp nest combined with hand-painted chemigrams creating planetarystructures.After coating the handmade paper with light-sensitive chemistry, it is left to dry in a dark room. Thelarge-scale negative is contact printed onto the paper by exposure to daylight (UV rays). The print is thenprocessed by thoroughly washing in water to remove any unexposed solution. It can then be hung to dry,developing to full density Prussian blue after 24 hours. Once the image is fixed it is hand finished with24-carat gold leaf.