Amy Gladding's "The Land At Home"

These images were made during the lockdown. It’s a series that looks at the land and travel and outside spaces. “The land at home “

"Basically a while back actually before isolation I made a landscape mountain scene out of paper in a shoe box and lit it and photographed it. (brown image)

Inspired by these and wanting to develop further during lockdown I made a series of collàges all from analog film images. They are made up of different landscapes from around the world from previous travels. (Images 1 and 4)

Then based on these collàges, I made a series of Cyanotypes in the garden at home just using paper and tracing paper ripped or cut to resemble the shapes of land masses hills and mountains (blue images)."

See more of Amy's work on instagram at @my_faraway

A/A:  You practice so many different alternative processes.  Do you have a favorite?

AG: My favourite alternative process is probably the cyanotype process as its so versatile. Coating a variety of surfaces with the light sensitive emulsion leads to different results for example I use graph paper, hand made papers or even book pages. Then there are so many options to choose from to make the print. You can use natural forms or objects directly onto the coated paper or acetate negatives. My recent prints used torn paper to act as stencils and create a mountainous landscape scene. For a more experimental approach you can use the elements. For example I did a land art project with my students and we used rain, snow and waves to create cyanotypes. The other brilliant thing is you can transform the prints from the gorgeous Cyan blue to lovely sepia tones by staining the prints with tea.

A/A:  What got you interested in alternative processes?

AG: I think my background in Art has always given me the confidence to be experimental and try alternative processes. I’ve never really made straightforward photographic work, there is always an element of art, design or craft involved.

A/A:  Do you find your work has a theme?

AG: My work recently has focused on the natural world and changing landscapes. Documenting my travels through art and photography has always been important. During current times when our movements and freedoms have been restricted by the lockdown this has been difficult. I started photographing invented landscape scenes made from paper.

A/A:  How long have you shot film?

AG: I have been shooting on film since I was 17 and this year I turn 34 so a long time! I learnt to use analog processes at art college before digital photography was cheap or accessible so it’s where I began.