Dark Tracing (ongoing)
I am drawn to the shore, a place where earth and sea meet. At night ghost waves spill over the sand, turning to foam. This dynamic boundary is in constant flux, influenced by tidal shifts, erosion, and the impacts of climate change. I make this experimental cameraless work, Dark Tracing, at the transitional edge of the sea. In this process, an enigmatic microcosm of the ocean is imprinted on my light sensitive paper.
Over the years, I have observed a gradual increase in the amount of sargassum seaweed on the beach near my home, darkening the shoreline. While this seaweed holds vital importance to the ocean ecosystem, its growing presence in substantial quantities can harm an already threatened environment. In response, I make an eco-friendly tea from washed-ashore seaweed to develop these images. Then, sea saltwater is used to stabilize them, incorporating a place-based narrative into the final material prints.