Inspiration:
This artwork was inspired by Cecilia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin, a pioneering astrophysicist andprobably the most eminent women astronomers of all time. Payne’s discovery deriving true cosmicabundance of elements from stellar spectra profoundly changed what we know about the universe,and her work began a revolution in astrophysics.This is taken from the series "Women Who Unlocked The Universe"- A Space Of One's Own: Thesepowerful figur es in time revolutionised our understanding of the universe and provided invaluablecontributions to the field of astronomy, astrophysics and space travel. In pursuing their passions forthe heavens, scouring the skies for stellar spectra, chasing comets and mapping the cosmos theyultimately unlocked the mysteries of the universe.
Technique:The Widening Of The Horizon As You Climb XLwascreatedby constructing a hand-cut collage offemale photographic portraiture, photographs of spiral staircases, antique metronomes andtelescopes with photograms of antique slides of interstellar clouds and star spectra withhand-printed surface textures from chemigrams.After coating the handmade paper with light-sensitive chemistry, it is left to dry in a dark room. Thelarge scale negative is then contact printed onto the paper by exposing to daylight (UV rays). Theprint is then processed by thoroughly washing in water to remove any unexposed solution. It canthen be hung to dry, developing to full density Prussian blue after 24 hours and then hand finishedwith 24-carat gold leaf.