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Alan Butler , Irish, b.1981

Title

Corn_Simple_Dry

Date2018

MediumCyanotype

Dimensions

91 x 61 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 2020

Object numberNGI.2020.56

DescriptionThe works that make up Alan Butler’s series, ‘Virtual Botany Cyanotypes’ (2016-Present), take their form from the well-known collection of 'Cyanotypes of British Algae', produced by Anna Atkins (1799-1871) in the 19th Century, which examined various species of algae in Britain during her time. Atkins created these cyanotypes by placing specimens directly onto paper coated with ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, after which it is exposed to sunlight and then washed in water, leading to the uncovered areas of the paper turning a dark blue, while the chosen specimen or object leaves an impression in white.

Expanding upon Atkins approach by incorporating elements of the technological universe of the 21st century, Butler’s series explores the various types of plant life that live inside video games, and virtual reality environments.
Through performative and procedural explorations inside video games, as well as their file-structures, virtual plant life is identified and extracted, and then transposed to positive exposure film. The images of virtual plants, grasses, shrubs, trees and weeds are then exposed through real sunlight onto photosensitive paper, which is prepared by hand using the original 19th Century process. The result is a series of works that allow virtual imagery to merge with real-world physical materiality. Each work is unique as the transparency film used in the exposure process is destroyed after the work is complete.

In Corn_Simple_Dry, 2018, Butler depicts a corn stalk in the style described above. The stem and leaves of the corn plant stand out in brilliant white against a cyan blue background.

ProvenancePurchased, 2020