We had a great time making cyanotype/sun prints this weekend! Working with locally gathered plants- native, introduced, and invasive- we used the sun and photosensitive chemistry to make photograms. Most of our group had never made cyanotypes before, and they did really well! Once we'd figured out the basics, it was time to start interrupting the process. Using water gathered from the Fraser Estuary that morning, along with vinegar, salt, beet juice, turmeric, and invasive blackberry juice, we started experimenting with what happens when you introduce different elements during exposure. We got some really cool textures and effects by embracing the spirit of curiosity and play!

I thought this would be an interesting way to explore the history of so-called Richmond, which, before settler-colonization, was a bog and wetland ecology. Musqueam's seasonal fishing sites were right on the water in what we now call Steveston, and these spaces on the estuary were later settled by Europeans and then Chinese and Japanese migrants. These water-accessible sites were settled first because you literally couldn't walk across Richmond without being knee-deep in mud!

Courtesy of the City of Richmond Archives, item number 1978 14 5

The island was rapidly changed after dikes and ditches were built to start draining the land and turn it into agricultural space. Now water pumps all over Richmond keep the Fraser River at bay. But the impacts of climate change mean that the water level is constantly rising and the Fraser keeps reasserting itself. It's not just the water, but its salt content which is having an impact, as the estuary's mix of fresh and salt water seeps back into the land and affects the growth of crops.

As we made our prints with local plants- some of which thrive in wetland ecologies, and some which have grown up since the agricultural transformation of Richmond- adding the Fraser River water and salt to the developing print was a fun and creative way to capture that struggle over the land.