Reanimate

Jo Stapleton

This series was created during C19 lockdown using items found around the house including the ‘impossible shoes’ (impossibly glamorous and impractical), the ‘imposter dress’ (an unworn impulse purchase from 15+ years ago) and a set of found 1940s colour negatives of women advertising everyday products. At a time when my domestic surroundings took on new significance, I wanted to explore photographically the transformation of objects through the medium of alternative processes. My aim to suggest these objects enjoy a liberty and life independent of my own. The images were shot on slow speed ADOX film. The shoes and dress suspended with fishing wire and lit to create drama. The colour negatives photographed, edited and reframed on a lightbox. I used a variety of processes and techniques including Lith, Chemigram and Cyanotype printing to create the final images. I distressed negatives with tissues paper and incorporated additional found objects including sewing equipment and Letraset stencil as photograms during the printing process.

Artist biography

Jo is a Hertfordshire based film and darkroom photographer with an interest in alternative processes and techniques including lith, cyanotype, salt printing and chemigrams. Jo’s photographic practice focuses upon constructed realities photography. Influenced by the visual style, mood and atmosphere of film noir, Jo uses dolls house furniture and models, found objects and photo collage to construct and capture photographic moments or stories. Jo is a RPS 100 photographic heroines nominee and a current 2020 analogue photography grant recipient of the Richard and Siobhan Coward Photography Foundation.

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Reanimate, Jo Stapleton

Woman with sewing equipment - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with objects added (Cyanotype print, with additional photogram objects and teabag tinted hair)

Impossible shoes suspended with fishing wire. No.1 (Lith print with tissue distressed negatives)

Impossible dress suspended with fishing wire No.2 (B&W Chemigram print)

Impossible dress suspended with fishing wire No.1. (Lith print)

Woman with flora - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with added objects (Cyanotype print with teabag tinted hair)

Mouth with pins - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with added objects (Lith print)

Impossible shoe suspended with fishing wire (Cyanotype print)

Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire No.5 (Lith print with tissue paper distressed negative)

Woman with pins and photogram flora - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox (Lumen print)

Impossible shoes with Letraset stencil (Cyanotype print with teabag tinted shoes)

Face with pins - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with added objects (Lith print)

Face with drawing pins - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with objects added (Cyanotype print with teabag tinted hair and pins)

Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire No.4 (Lith print with paper distressed negative)

Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire No.3 (B&W Chemigram print)

Eyes with sewing needle - 1940s found colour negative rephotographed on a lightbox with added objects (B&W Chemigram print)