KIM (2015)

55 handmade wet-collodion “tintypes”, various dimensions.

Until the introduction of the wet-collodion process in 1851, photography was a painfully slow and technically difficult process largely confined to those of substantial financial means both as practitioners and clients.

By comparison, wet-collodion was a simple - if not entirely predicatble - process that extended photography’s reach socially and geographically. Photographic studios and itinerant photographers began to offer cheap, quickly made “tin types”, thin negatives on black japaned tin that appeared as positive images. Before long, small portraits were available on even a modest budget. In a similar way, social media such as Instagram and twitter has given the ability to widely disseminate our image to anyone with a mobile phone. Kim Kardashian with over 189 million followers on Instagram is perhaps the most famous example of this new form of celebrity. Kim, re-presents her stream in the form of traditional “tintypes”.