The Laboratories: We Are All Bodies of Water

The Laboratories: We Are All Bodies of Water (2023)

800cm x 80 cm x 78 cm, installation, 2023. Can be modulated.
Custom-made light box table, silver prints and photo negatives developed with an Arctic seaweed-based developer by the artist, arctic seaweed, glycerine, charcoal from Longyearbyen, agar, soda crystals.

Bodies of Water‭, ‬a series of photographic silver prints‭, ‬is installed on a 8‭ ‬metre long lightbox table‭. ‬Taken in the Arctic‭, ‬these photographs‭ ‬reveal textures of water and ice‭, ‬sometimes with a visceral quality that evokes the human body‭. ‬During the polar expedition‭, ‬Elise Guillaume discovered seaweed washed up on a beach and decided to use it to create a photographic developer‭. ‬This initiative led the artist to develop both the negatives and photographic prints using this plant-based developer‭, which is also a low-toxicity alternative to traditional photographic development methods‭.‬

On this lightbox table‭, ‬the photographs are arranged among the seaweed floating in a viscous liquid and their negatives‭. ‬The connection between the human body and aquatic bodies is further explored through the arrangement of biomaterials on the table‭. ‬These skin-like materials were also created by the artist using seaweed‭. ‬Halfway between a darkroom and an imaginary laboratory‭, the audience is invited to interact with the installation.

Produced by Espace Croisé, Centre d’Art Contemporain in collaboration with LMNO Gallery (Brussels).

Watch a video of the installation below.