secretive
New works by Johanna Schartau are now available at ed-art.se. In these photographic works, Schartau has used symbolic images from her own archive, which she has developed using gum printing.
Gum prints hanging to dry in Johann Schartau's summer studio
Gum printing is a photographic development technique from the 1830s. A thick paper is coated with an emulsion of pigment, gum arabic and a light-sensitive substance. When the paper has dried, it is exposed to UV light together with the negative. The image appears when the unexposed parts are washed away with water. The process is repeated for each color.
Darkroom work
Gum printing gives the artworks an almost painterly, vintage feel. It reinforces the feeling that the motifs carry a secret and a history. The artist does not tell this story, but leaves the reading open to the viewer.
In her work, Johanna Schartau is interested in what lies behind. Her works often start out from personal histories. She draws material from both her own and public archives/references, her own background as well as our common history.
