Dendrophonia
Background to the project
Beneath the soil, roots form networks of extraordinary complexity, exchanging carbon, water, and chemical signals across species and across time. Dendrophonia asks what it might mean to listen to that exchange through light and chemistry rather than language. Each print was made without a camera: the root, its soil, and the fungal threads it carries were laid upon light-sensitive paper and left to speak for themselves, their chemistry becoming image, their presence becoming record.
Dendrophonia
(from Ancient Greek déndron δένδρον “tree” + phōne φωνή “voice, sound”) 1. noun: The perceived voice or sound of trees; literally “tree-sound,” suggesting trees as speaking or sounding presences. 2. by extension: The practice or experience of listening for the subtle languages of trees and forests, whether acoustic, imaginative, or ecological.
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Lumen Process
The lumen print is a cameraless photographic process that uses sunlight to coax images from the physical world. In Dendrophonia, it becomes a quiet act of listening as a collaboration with organic matter placed directly onto light-sensitive silver gelatin paper. Roots, fragments of soil and mycelium rest on the emulsion and are exposed for hours or days as the paper slowly transforms under sunlight, moisture, and temperature. No enlarger or developer intervenes. The image forms through the ultra-violet rays of the sun’s gradual breakdown of silver halides, revealing unpredictable tones such as soft pinks, ochres, violets and delicate imprints of organic structures. Resin-coated papers, with their sealed polyethylene base, tend to yield brown tonal ranges with crisper edges, as moisture and plant pigments stay near the surface. Fibre-based papers are more porous, allowing water and organic compounds to migrate into the paper, softening contours and encouraging more diffuse, atmospheric colour shifts. The characteristic reds, purples and apricot tones arise from this interaction of light, emulsion and plant material. Prolonged UV exposure alters the silver compounds; heat and humidity swell and stress the gelatin; and pigments, acids and alkalis released from the roots and soil subtly tilt the chemistry away from neutral greys into the warm spectrum. Within Dendrophonia, the lumen process acts as both method and metaphor, attuning image-making to vegetal time. Each print carries its conditions of making including paper, plant root, temperature, humidity, duration as part of its voice. These works are not representations but residues of encounter: documents of a dialogue between light, chemistry and living matter.
Cyanolumen Process
The cyanolumen extends the lumen print through the chemistry of cyanotype, merging silver and iron light reactions into a single process. Sheets of silver gelatin paper are first coated with cyanotype solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, then layered with roots and exposed to sunlight. This hybrid exposure invites both metals to respond, producing an unpredictable spectrum of blues, rusts, and magentas. No enlarger or developer intervenes. The roots mediate the light, their moisture, pigments, and structure altering the reaction beneath. Areas of contact form fine detail, while looser spaces generate diffuse halos where silver and iron chemistries mingle. Resin-coated papers were used exclusively for these works. Their sealed polyethylene base yields deeper cyan blues with sharper edges, as the iron salts and root-derived organic compounds remain contained at the surface. Green tones emerge through toning with tannin-rich fluid extracted from oak leaves and acorns. The interplay of silver breakdown and iron oxidation creates these shifts: UV light reduces ferric ions while stressing the silver emulsion; root-derived acids and moisture accelerate both processes unevenly; and residual chemicals continue evolving post-exposure, tilting toward richer palettes over time. Lighter colours result from subsequent digital inversions. In Dendrophonia, the cyanolumen acts as a co-creation between artist, chemistry, and plant matter, a conversation rendered in light and metal. Each print carries its making within it: an alchemical record of sunlight, humidity, and decay, translating the whispers of the forest into visible form.
Digital photobook available
This is a 44-page abridged version of the handmade book with 32 original lumen and cyanolumen prints. Limited run of 25 copies signed and numbered. A postcard and poem tip-in will be included.
£45 including postage. Please state Dendrophonia and your surname in the invoice section. You will receive an email to supply your postal address.
A flipbook can be viewed below
Accordion book
This is a 14-page abridged version of the handmade book with 10 original lumen and cyanolumen prints. Red velvet cover and eco box printed on Felix Schoeller Lustre 290 g/m²
£20 including postage. Please state Dendrophonia and your surname in the invoice section. You will receive an email to supply your postal address.
Posters
Three different A3 posters are available on lustre paper of my favourite lumen prints. Will look fabulous on the wall or framed. Each comes with a copy of the poem that underpins the project.
Each poster £25 including postage. Please state Dendrophonia, surname and poster colour (pink, brown, purple) you require in the invoice section. You will receive an email to supply your postal address.