In Praise of Raw Data

Dr Melanie King

Jupiter, Cyanotype Duotone, 2025. Venus, Cyanotype bleached with Ramsgate chalk, 2025 . Both images are archival NASA images that I have reimagined through experimental cyanotype / alternative photography printing processes.

'Astronomical images are often highly mediated, for example - colours are added to represent chemicals present in a galaxy or nebula. This project comprises several colour printing processes and sustainable printing techniques, which mimic digital astronomical post-processing techniques.

Melanie used the residency at Passengers to explore the duotone cyanotype process. Melanie used multiple layers of cyanotype to mimic astronomical imaging construction. Influenced by Julie F Hill's use of geological materials such as calcium carbonate, King tried out chalk as a cyanotype bleach as an alternative to industrially produced soda crystals.'