Polysiphonia fastigiata 1851 - 1855

Curator: It looks like a dream I had once after eating too much cotton candy, these fluffy clouds against a summer night sky…but so quiet, suspended in time. Editor: What you're seeing is a cyanotype created between 1851 and 1855 by Anna Atkins titled, *Polysiphonia fastigiata*. She’s regarded as one of the first female photographers. Curator: One of the first?! What a marvelous way to capture the ephemerality of these organic specimens using photography so early in the medium’s history. This specific blue is synonymous with cyanotypes, almost as if the color is an active participant. Editor: It is. The cyanotype process, using iron salts and sunlight, transforms simple seaweed into ethereal silhouettes. Remember, Atkins was a botanist. Curator: So it was a means to an end? A document? It still feels incredibly artistic, this convergence of science and creative spirit. Is the composition itself intended to illustrate variety or simply record? Editor: The image represents the convergence of Victorian science and art. The process allowed for accurate botanical illustrations at a time when photography was considered a scientific tool. The multiple plants reflect Victorian interests in cataloging and understanding the natural world. But what appears like a "simple" recording becomes radical because she took up the lens as a woman scientist! Curator: This makes it almost defiant, capturing a whole universe inside that deep Prussian blue. This pushes far past merely categorizing life; in a way it feels like reaching to grasp its elusive core. Editor: Yes, but think of access. The use of photography democratized access to botanical knowledge. Remember this image allowed access to those unable to see physical samples, an educational resource promoting visibility for knowledge. Curator: You're right; it also creates such stillness. Makes you wonder how many eyes this has spoken to over so many years? If those algae themselves were stories being whispered silently under glass. Editor: It really illuminates how powerful photography has been for recording histories from an intersectional point of view. Curator: It truly feels that these cyanotypes create new stories and memories within ourselves each time we return, it offers a fresh glimpse into life, captured so long ago!