Over nine weeks participants from Access to Industry (PAGE 2 Group – Photographic Arts Group Empowerment) took part in a series of photo walks collecting plant materials to experiment with different chemical-free photographic processes, aiming to teach new skills, reduce isolation and improve wellbeing for participants.

Across the weekly workshops led by Scott Hunter and Keira Tucker, students experimented with a range of alternative methods of developing/creating photographs using plants, bacteria, and fungi involving cyanotypes, chemigrams, phytograms, soil chromatographs, microscopy, and more. 

[above] phytograms – left: Allyn, right: Steven

The project culminated with an exhibition at Portobello Library showing a number of the plant-processed photographs, petri dish experiments and other processes involved including bacteria prints – bacterial cultures on exposed negative film, some of which are shown below (l-r: Liz, Lucy, Prarthana, Prarthana, Scott, Allyn)

Thanks to support from Stills Gallery in helping realise this project and Portobello Library for hosting of the exhibition. Funded by Paths for All (Smarter Choices, Smarter Places fund) and Peoples Postcode Lottery.

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Tonya McMullan situates her work amidst communities using long-term engagement to make context-specific, process-based, participatory and perfo rmative installations that foreground ecological concerns. McMullan has immersed herself in the world of insects for several years: ongoing projects with beekeeping, urban agri- culture and pollinators have developed into explorations of our sensory and extra-sensory connections. 

Past projects include The Lure of Tomorrow’s Harvests (2020), an installation commissioned by Talbot Rice Gallery comprising an archive of Edinburgh honey collected during lockdown, and There is something in the æther (2021), a scent and hand sanitiser created for TULCA festival in Galway to encourage people to recollect smell memories and consider our relationship with the environment past present and future. 

Commissioned Works & Events:

Exhibition
Crude Floral, Art Walk Porty Hub, September 2022 (scent, card, seamix)
Salt Works Group exhibition, mote102 102 Ferry Road Edinburgh, March 2023 (tomato plants, compost, found tarpaulin and fur coat, drawings, photographs, scent)

Workshops
Ecological Explorations at Seafield, November 2022
Beginning with a talk by Lyle Boyle, Seagrass Officer from The Ecology Centre, and Leonie Alexander, Ecologist from the Edinburgh Shoreline project, this session involved the creation of paintings based on smell and local ecology

Painting with Synthetic Seawater Workshop, September 2022
McMullan shares her research into synthetic sea water in this workshop, which is used by scientists to simulate the theoretical content of natural sea water in lab environments. Participants create a batch of synthetic sea water and use it to produce watercolour paintings of the Firth of Forth. 

Seafield Scent Identifying Workshop, September 2022
McMullan leads a small group walk to discuss the scents that can be detected in the air, land and sea, and begin to make scent diaries. The group will then work together in a makeshift beach laboratory, combining synthetic seawater and other materials to create a new scent.  

Writing commissioned in partnership with MAP Magazine, published in SALT journal published by Art Walk Press 2023:

The Smellscape of the Seascape on Tonya McMullan by Jan Prichard – available to read on MAP

All photos Ellie J McMaster

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