Blue Alchemy
by Renée Greenlee | @rbgphoto
A Collection of 10 Cyanotypes on Silk, 30 ft by 18 ft
Blue Alchemy is a collection of 10 cyanotypes on silk, crafted by artist Renée Greenlee using water sourced from the Lake Champlain watershed and beyond. Employing the cyanotype technique—an early photographic process reliant on UV light—the artist begins by saturating fabric with cyanotype chemistry. Once dried, the silk is taken to the lake shore for exposure, forging a tangible representation of the landscape itself in collaboration with the watershed. The resulting pieces embody the very essence of the landscape itself—a reciprocal act of creation with the natural world. Through her art, Greenlee endeavors to foster a profound connection with the natural world, aiming to deepen our understanding of the land and its people. This ongoing journey is a poignant means of navigating the ever-changing climate shifts we face in the present and future. The exhibited pieces were crafted using water from the five sections of Lake Champlain: the South Lake, the Main Lake, Malletts Bay (east of the islands), the Inland Sea, and Missisquoi Bay. The creation of this work was supported in part by an award from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the artist:
Renée Greenlee is a photographer based in Vermont. In addition to her professional and community projects, she utilizes film and historic processes to explore place, liminality and the work of being present. To that end, she creates cyanotypes of her local watershed, bringing a blue world to light. For her, photography is a dialogue between light, memory and the meaning of making an image.
