Botanical Imaging: Making Images from Plant Pigments

Anthotype is one of the oldest analog image making processes; images are formed not by cameras but by the chemical and biological reactions of plant pigments painted onto paper, exposed to light, fading slowly over days to leave an image shaped by shadow and plant chemistry. Each image is chemically unique, determined by the species used, the concentration of the pigment, and the conditions of exposure.

The session opens with a short talk on how plant pigments react to sunlight, why each species produces a different colour, and what this shares with the broader processes of photosynthesis. Then participants extract pigments from kitchen materials, coat paper, and arrange objects or found materials on the surface. Panels are left at SAVVY Contemporary to expose over the following days. 

Because anthotype takes time, the image arrives later. Participants are invited to return a week later to collect their panel and join a second gathering on plant knowledge traditions that predate Western botany: how communities across the world have understood and developed botanical practices as reciprocal relationships with the living world, not as resources to be extracted but as knowledge systems in their own right. 

No prior knowledge needed. Registration recommended. Drop-in, free, and open to all ages. 

Part of a broader season of gatherings, Wedding Affairs, SAVVY Contemporary's ongoing season of workshops, gatherings, and shared practice. Across its different strands, Wedding Affairs brings people together around creativity, care, and collective knowledge, working with materials and traditions often overlooked by dominant institutions.