Latex Series, Brooke, 3 weeks old
by Anne Geddes
Title
Latex Series, Brooke, 3 weeks old
Artist
Anne Geddes
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Newborn baby Brooke was photographed through a very thin layer of soft latex, that was stretched across a large wooden frame, which in turn was mounted vertically between two large stands. We spent weeks perfecting the art of creating these very thin latex sheets, which were mixed and spread onto a flat surface and allowed to dry and cure overnight.
The process is very unpredictable - each time the latex dried, it would look totally different and react in a different way. Every morning we would be unsure as to what we would find. I was wanting to photograph through a smooth and relatively unmarked sheet, and to achieve one perfect sheet would involve a dozen or so others that didn't quite work out. Often bubbles had formed or bits of dust had been trapped and these imperfect sheets would have to be discarded and the whole process begin again. But I always strive to capture the original image in-camera. For me, it's more authentic.
Eventually we had enough sheets to do the shoot, but as soon as the baby's skin touched the latex, it would leave a mark; latex is very porous. To remedy this, as we were shooting, we'd gently dust the latex with talcum powder to try to remove the marks.
Brooke was being held behind the sheet by my Studio Manager. Fast asleep, she was partly wrapped in soft polar fleece fabric which had been dyed a similar tone to the latex, and gently pressed against the thin surface. It was all very surreal to see the result, and so quiet and comforting. This series remains one of my all time favorites. As an artist, to take yourself somewhere, in this case right to the core of why you are creating, is magical. All of the images from this series are further detailed in my autobiography "A Labor of Love" (2007)
Uploaded
January 16th, 2020
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