Process 15 - Celestographs

In a tribute to August Strindberg's Celestograph process, I embarked on a year-long endeavor to recreate this extraordinary technique. Inspired by Strindberg's work, I dedicated myself to capturing the essence of each full moon through Celestographs, a series of celestial images.

Over the course of twelve months, I meticulously documented the full moon during each cycle, following Strindberg's original concept. Employing his method as a guiding light, I sought to evoke the same sense of wonder and mystery that Strindberg himself experienced.

By immersing myself in this creative journey, I aimed to pay homage to Strindberg's visionary contributions while infusing my own artistic interpretation into the Celestograph process. The resulting collection encapsulates the ethereal beauty and transient nature of the full moon, weaving together history, art, and the celestial realm into a captivating visual narrative.

Within his period of experimental photographic work, Strindberg developed a process that enabled him to capture the night sky without the use of camera or lens, which he called, Celestographs. Unlike his painting or photograms which employed the active agency of his own physical exertion on the canvas, these images of the night sky were automatically constructed.

Piecing together information from various textual and anecdotal sources, and from many experimentations, I was able to replicate Strindberg’s process of creating a Celestograph. Whilst taking part in the Research in Action Residency, at the Sidney Nolan Trust in North Wales i created my frist celestogrpah. Each celestogrpahy captures each full moon for a period and year.