WEEK 7-8

Concept: Emotional Impressions

Enquiry: How can material sensitivity and process-driven techniques like cyanotype be used to create representations of emotional experiences? Can the interaction of light, time and layering in cyanotype offer new ways of visualising the cyclical nature of emotional states?

Framing Cyanotype as Medium: 

What is sensitive about cyanotype? 

Concept: Managing emotions= managing diff factors of cyanotype. 

Introduces a level of active engagement of process and what it represents (how emotions are active and hard to manage or express) 

Questions:

Research and process :

Imagine emotions as imprints, shifting and evolving over time—some fading, others intensifying like shadows cast by changing light. Emotional Impressions explores the material dimensions of cyanotype, using its unpredictable nature to translate the complexities of emotional experience into tangible visual forms. This project explores how physical graphic processes, specifically cyanotype, can convey the lingering effects of emotions and its unpredictability. By using time-based exposure and layering techniques, I translate the way emotions build up, fade or intensify. The interaction of light and material mirrors how emotions imprint, shift and evolve, engaging the audience through a process-driven, tactile experience.

Overexposure through layering and blocking : Emotional Impressions

In this experimental series, I used cyanotype to visually convey the weight and resilience of emotions.

The heart, a universally recognized symbol of love, passion, and intensity, serves as a fitting representation of emotional states in this work. The series explore how emotions transform and accumulate over time, and this progression is reflected in the cyanotype prints. As exposure times increase, the heart becomes darker and more intense, mirroring the way emotions deepen or persist depending on our thoughts and reflections. Overexposure symbolizes emotional entrapment, while layering represents the accumulation of emotions over time.

Each heart begins with a 5-minute exposure, gradually increasing to 20 minutes, with each new layer building upon the previous one. This continuous layering intensifies the image, much like emotions that grow stronger when revisited in a loop. The cyanotype process itself—its sensitivity to UV light and its deep, rich tonal contrasts—acts as a metaphor for the intensity and duration of emotional states.

Framing Time as Material: 

Time based exposure : 90-seconds and beyond

I manipulated exposure time to control depth and intensity, using blocking and overlapping to disrupt or enhance emotional visibility. Varying line qualities in the cyanotype stencil contribute to expressive mark-making. The process itself—timing, chemical reaction and layering—becomes a key visual language for translating intangible emotions into a striking physical form.

Exploring time with sequencing and tones

Reflection:

The project results in a series of cyanotypes that poetically explore the interplay of time, exposure and emotion—pushing the boundaries of graphic design to capture the intangible yet deeply resonant aspects of human experience. The series illustrate how emotions leave imprints, accumulate, evolve and endure over time. Using process-driven storytelling, the project merges material sensitivity with psychological depth. The series investigates how graphic communication design can materialize emotional states, using process-driven experimentation to evoke empathy and connection.

Looking ahead, I aim to further investigate the sensory dimensions of cyanotype by experimenting with textured papers and fabrics. This approach will allow me to create a diverse range of tactile and visual outcomes, enriching the expressive potential of this medium.

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