Jonathan He
The King's School
ECHOES IN BLUE
Photomedia
Cyanotype prints on kozo paper
My body of work represents the delicate, ephemeral beauty of the mountainous and icy landscapes of Iceland, Japan and Finland. While climate change hums quietly in the background, I focused on my sensory and emotional memory of these landscapes, remembering their textures, contours and elusive light. I experimented with techniques, printing my cyanotypes in rich Prussian blues and using the medium's inherent unpredictability to convey the transient, melting nature of these places. My intention was for each work to be an act of reverence, an elegy, communicating what is slipping away through a process as fragile as the scenes themselves.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Anna Atkins, Sir John Herschel.
Marker's Commentary
Echoes in Blue is a highly resolved and evocative body of work that intricately examines the delicate, ephemeral beauty of mountainous landscapes. The collection demonstrates a sophisticated command of Photomedia, specifically through the use of cyanotype photography to translate global environments into rich, atmospheric Prussian blues. The student successfully navigates the tension between permanence and loss, using experimental techniques to embrace the inherent unpredictability of the medium. This technical choice serves as a powerful metaphor for the transient, fragile, melting nature of the landscape depicted.
The submission is characterised by a diverse range of practices that extend the traditional boundaries of the cyanotype process with the integration of meticulous pointillist mark-making directly onto the prints adding a layer of intricate detail, mirroring the crystalline structures of the ice and stone. The inclusion of 3D elements reinforces the weight and depth of the landscapes, transforming the two-dimensional into tangible, physical forms. Through a refined combination of photography and hand-rendered techniques, this body of work meticulously maps the intersection of geography and memory. The layering of sculpture and detailed mark-making elevates the collection, offering a sophisticated exploration of the natural world’s enduring yet fragile legacy.