Image: Peak District, Silver Gelatin Photograph, 2023. 
Part of my “Developing Your Creative Practice” grant, supported by the Arts Council. I am adding regular DYCP updates on my Patreon page.

Photographing The Invisible

On 17 June, I will be leading a schlieren photography demonstration with Dr Carlos Cueto at Goethe Institut as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival. This event has been commissioned by the Royal College of Art . This is a free, drop-in event. 

“Capture unobservable sounds using photography and uncover the physical principles enabling us to develop the future of brain imaging through a demonstration of the Schlieren experiment, which allows waves such as sound or heat to be seen by using a camera. This event will be held at the Goethe Institute, led by Melanie King (PhD Candidate at the Royal College of Art) and Carlos Cueto (Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College”

You can see more info on my website showing current and previous collaborations with Carlos Cueto under the page Archive > Art and Science > Ultra - Photographing The Invisible.

Image © Melanie King (Royal College of Art) & Pietro Innocenzi (Supersonic Aerodynamics Lab, Imperial College

I have created a website page about the ongoing collaboration with myself and Dr Carlos Cueto here.

Glacial Movements & The Ghaib
COMSATS, Islamabad

You can now see Installation shots from “Glacial Movements and the Ghaib” at COMSATS, Islamabad on the Lumen website . The exhibition is open from 31 May to 7 June.

Curated by Farrah Mahmood and facilitated by Amna Hashmi.
The Glacial Movements and The Ghaib Project is supported by British Council, Pakistan.

We are excited to announce that our next exhibition will be in the UK, at the Daphne Oram Gallery, Canterbury Christ Church University, in Autumn 2023.

Artists:

Amna Hashmi
Saba Khan
Saulat Amjal
Zohreen Murtaza
Rebecca Huxley
Louise Beer
Melanie King

The Pak Khawateen Painting Club and Lumen Studios visited four glacial sites (Passu Glacier, Shispher Glacier, Battura Glacier and Gulkin Glacier), each with differing properties. I documented these areas using analogue silver gelatin film, before developing the images using a sustainable developer made from Tapal Danedar chai tea leaves. During our Glacial Movements & The Ghaib expedition, I was struck by the immense power of water and its capacity to alter a landscape. Water can carve out channels over millennia, but it can also move much faster, causing flash floods. The landscape is in flux, as land slides and glaciers creak, sending ice and rocks continuously from mountain tops. As water moves around the planet, it has the potential to travel for thousands of miles, through several different states.

Kielder Observatory Podcast

Last month, I spoke to Kielder Observatory about my practice with analogue astrophotography. Listen to the podcast using this link.

Caffenol Film Developer Video
The Margate School

On 22 April, I led a caffenol-c (coffee) film developing workshop at The Margate School. Nicola Roper has made this fantastic video of the workshop in progress.

Upcoming Exhibitions and Workshops

Upcoming Exhibitions

Albion House, Ramsgate,UK,  21 June - 01 September 2023.
Royal College of Art: PhD Exhibition, Copeland Gallery, London, UK, 22-25 June 2023.
Environment, The Glasgow Gallery of Photography,  Glasgow, UK, 4-30th July 2023.
Elemental Landscapes, Analog Film Photography Association, Crealde School of Art, Orlando, Florida, USA, 6 Oct 23 - 20 Jan 2024.

Upcoming Workshops (Online Only)

Seaweed Developer & Botanical Film Toning, Various dates and time zones available. Summer 2023.
Land Art Agency.

Upcoming Talks

Recrafting Creativity: Land, Sea & Sky, Online, Land Art Agency.
With artists: Charlotte Smithson, Melanie King, Lynda Laird

“Join us for the third in our 4 part series as we explore the work, methods and experiences of artists engaged in elevating our connections to and experiences of the living Earth. Alongside the discussion of practical methods, techniques and skills that each artist pioneers, we will be discovering how their practice explores the meaning of ‘sustainable / green / eco’ thinking and where they themselves see their relationship within landscapes and materials. We will discuss their means of engaging with the complex issues and simple truths of the world today. With curiosity we will adventure through ideas, crafts and inspired futures that beckon with a sprinkle of creative imagination. This talks series is intended to inspire, inform and awake the imagination, inviting creative intuition and propositions for working in harmony with the worlds around us. They will offer you tools and insights for your own practice and methods of exploration. From the practical to the profound this series is an open invitation to anyone and everyone looking for a little creative magic!”

 Support Me

Here are several ways to support my work:

- Patreon  (£10 Subscription includes: Monthly Postcard, Digital Download,  Regular Tutorials & Videos)
- Ko-Fi 
- Visit my store
- Visit the Land Art Collective shop to purchase artworks.