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Tea-toned cyanotypes on Hahnemühle etching paper

November 2023 - May 2024











Cyanotypes are one of the earliest photograhic printing processes, initially discovered by Sir John F.W. Herschel (1791-1871), however pioneered by female collector, botanical artist and photographer Anna Atkins (1799-1871), who made the first book of photographs. 
Toning cyanotypes with strong tea solution has become an important ingredient for historical representation. I am interested in the subtlties of Welsh tasseography. The practice being very renowned for its now dispensive purpose, tasseography in Wales proved significance in national courting customs, where if one leaf would rise to the surface of a liquid, one would be succumbed to a marriage, or if multiple tea leaves rose, one would be attentive to numerous admirers.
The practice of tasseography generally draws an attentivness to reflect on the history of communication, speculation, testimony, and controversy between uninscribed and inscribed information.











































































Mia Gwenllian © MMXXIV