Howard
Leu

Experimental Ferric Gelatin Prints

These four pieces was made for a yearslong residency with Artservancy in Port Washington, Wisconsin. I examined the urban waterway and how the ever-presence of the human infrastructure changes the chemistry composition of our rivers and streams in the city. Milwaukee is known for three major rivers and the expansive Lake Michigan shoreline. In this untitled work I attempt to visualize chemical and mineral composites in the waterway, using basic elements that are used in cyanotype: ferric, salt, minerals, light, and water. Gelatin is used as a bond and applicate to glass panes. In the process, the main element of waterways, water, disappears, leaving only the usually invisible elements on display. At the same time, various blues resembles depths of water. I am interested in the absence in the broad depiction of nature and urban ecology, and challenge institutionalized narratives of natural environments that omits the controlled human elements.