An artistic collaboration between photographers Madeline Bowser and Ben Metherell, 'Handmade Urban Environments' explores the enduring presence of man-made forms, patterns, and textures in urban environments and the juxtaposition of these against handmade image creation.
The photographs serve not as documentation but instead are a dialogue between the solid, enduring structures of urban settings and the ephemeral beauty captured through the cyanotype process.
The images were taken on analogue film, a process that requires the photographer to carefully compose and calculate each image as it cannot be checked or confirmed until after film development. This hand-crafted technique for image creation, applied on washi paper, which is thin yet has strength in its fibres, not only challenges the perceived permanence of urban features but also renews an appreciation for the tactile intricacies of both the natural and the man made.
On display now at the Sovereign Hill Gift Shop. Presented as part of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale.
