Traverse no. 3: Aline Héau
Welcome to our column that discovers, investigates, and highlights fine art photographic work from an international forum of creatives. Aptly named “Traverse” and written by contributing editor, Michael Kirchoff.
Within this column, I strive to look at photographs and processes that reside outside of the familiar American bubble that we see more often than not. The aim is in examining not simply our similarities and differences, but also the common thread of making photographs in our shared process and goals.
—Michael Kirchoff, Contributing Editor
Aline Héau
I quite literally find that some photographic artists own their own world, most especially when they produce their work from scratch. They dive in headfirst to either creating or modifying a way of working that sets a precedent for the rest of us to admire and marvel at. My latest case in point is the talented Aline Héau, from the Loire Valley, France. Her photographic objects epitomize the word blue in the purest sense. She excels at creating cyanotype works of such brilliant blue color that it is impossible to look away. The added factor that makes this even more spectacular is the fact that she creates these cyanotype masterpieces on glass of differing shapes and sizes. Resembling the small panes of glass in a stained glass window, her photograms from the natural world rendered in this way have garnered her attention far and wide.
As a web and graphic designer by trade, and splitting her time between Paris and Beaugency, Héau has always been a creative person, with sculpture, painting, and photography at the center of her practice. With a disciplined background in Art History, this was followed by classes in lighting, analog photographic practices, and darkroom work. She responds to clean and flowing lines, and shapes that appear to float in air - and this intention in her work can be found throughout. While being mostly self-taught, it is also her collecting of vintage negatives, slides, and autochromes that inspire and often directs her own photographic works. “I learned about photography history which became a real passion. That was in a way, a major step into alt process.”
Héau’s foray into cyanotype was not an easy one, and to be clear, these are not your run-of-the-mill cyanotypes in any way. While originally researching the idea of making cyanotypes on glass, she found that little had been written about this procedure, with only a few references in antique texts being discovered. Using these few notes and an early recipe as a starting point, she slowly began refining and improving her techniques over time, eventually leading her to the methods she now uses to create these marvelous translucent masterpieces. Héau states, “I’m still amazed about the vibrant deep blue that I get. It took me years to get there, to get a perfect solid blue. Cyanotype is often seen as ‘the-easy-alt-process-you-can-do-with-kids’, but nevertheless, it’s still a chemical reaction led by its rules that you need to learn. And producing gorgeous cyanotype prints is not easy at all.”
Taking her vast experience with this historical process, Héau spends much of her time scouring the landscape coming up with the necessary specimens to complete her art. Responding to shapes and details from objects such as feathers, sand, dead birds, and flowers, pre-visualization is a key component to the eventual success of a particular piece. Exclusively made as photograms, her Herbarium collection honors these forms by presenting them as translucent objects of depth and beauty. The only failing to these astonishing works is the fact that any reproduction of them, by print or digital means, diminishes the incredible features they possess in real life. There is simply nothing like seeing them glow, as rays of pure sunlight pass through them.
About the artist
I practice an old photography technique: the cyanotype. It was one of the very first printing processes, and it is also one of the most durable over time. This technique was developed in 1842 by Sir John Herschel, a pioneer in photography, chemistry, and astronomy.
The cyanotype is a ferric process, using ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. By mixing these two products we obtain a UV sensitive solution, which, when exposed and rinsed, gives this unique blue color.
The peculiarity of my work lies in the materials I use. Indeed, one often finds cyanotypes on watercolor paper or on fabric, but I chose to opt for prints on glass. This requires adding a thick binder to the photosensitive mixture that will allow it to hold onto a non-porous surface. The result is sumptuous: a deep blue that will play with the light in the transparency of the glass.
I like to produce unique images from plants arranged on the photosensitive surface (photogram), or work from digital negatives of my photographic work or old negatives (contact print).
I also have a large collection of anonymous photographs from the beginning of the 20th century, Le Chronoscaphe, which is also a source for the prints that I offer here.
About the author
Michael Kirchoff works in the worlds of both commercial and fine art photography. A commercial shooter for thirty years, it is his fine art work that has set him apart from others, with instant film and toy camera images fueling several bodies of work. His consulting, training, and overall support of his fellow photographic artist continues with assistance in constructing one’s vision, reviewing portfolios, and finding exhibition opportunities, which fill the gaps in time away from active shooting.
Michael is also an independent curator and juror, and advocate for the photographic arts. Currently, he is also Editor-in-Chief at Analog Forever Magazine, and is the Founding Editor for the online photographer interview website, Catalyst: Interviews. Previously, Michael spent over four years as Editor at BLUR magazine.