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Photogram projects by Lloyd Godman - photogram artists

Luminous creatures as a Light source for Photograms

2nd March 2004

Last night I woke about 1.30am, seemed impossible to get back to sleep. Then there was a point where I gave up and decided on a walk on the beach

So here I am in a warm mist 1.30am in the darkness on the beach. Walked to the end of the sand where the rocks are, stood still - closed my eyes breathed deep the salt air. And then after a while began the walk back again.

There in front of me was a small glowing object on the sand, I had seen lots of foss- fluorescence in Hawaii, and glow worms around here but never anything like this. I picked it and it turned out to be a sand hopper ( Talorchestia) . Fascinated, I carried it all the way back home, and had this idea about using it to make a photogram by having it crawl all over the paper. It was an idea I had a while back, but the old luminous sand hoppers are not your everyday item, in fact I had never heard of them before. Later I discovered that the luminance came not from the Talorchestia itself, but from bacteria that attacks the sand hopper.

I had no idea for how long to let it crawl about on the paper Anyway sort of made a trap with some magnetic bars inside a box cover so it could crawl about and not get out, laid the paper over the top of this with the emulsion side down and figured it could expose the paper all night, so I went to bed for some ZZZZZ. In the morning the sand hopper had escaped - it was gone not a sign - but I develop the paper and there was a subtle but wonderful set of abstractions as it had crawled about on it route to freedom.

Probably the strangest photogram I have ever made.

The box lid with the magnets arranged in an enclosure to keep the sand hopper (Talorchestia) in.
The resulting Luminogram as the sand hopper ( Talorchestia) made its escape.
Detail from the sand hopper ( Talorchestia) image

 

 

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