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Dahlia # 120

Photograph
2003 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Barbara and Zafer Baran (photographers)
Baran, Barbara (photographer)
Baran, Zafer (photographer)
Place of origin
Richmond (photographed)

Barbara and Zafer Baran collaborate to make striking images of botanical specimens using digital scanning techniques and ink-jet printing. They place the specimens directly onto the scanner. Light passes through the transparent leaves and petals of the plants to reveal a luminous inner structure. These cameraless images are reminiscent of the photograms of early photographers such as William Henry Fox Talbot and Anna Atkins, made by simply placing objects between light-sensitive paper or film and a light source.

The Royal Horticultural Society commissioned the Barans in 2004 to make these botanical images to be featured on postage stamps in celebration of the society’s bicentenary.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
Titles
  • Dahlia # 120 (assigned by artist)
  • The Flower Cabinet (series title)
Materials and techniques
Ink-jet printing, digital imaging
Digital Imaging
Ink Jet Printing
Brief description
'Dahlia # 120, 2003', from the series 'The Flower Cabinet', photograph by Barbara and Zafer Baran
Physical description
Image of a dahlia.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 48.2cm
  • Sheet width: 32.8cm
  • Image height: 31.9cm
  • Image width: 31.9cm
Marks and inscriptions
Marked 'BZB #120/03' on bottom right-hand corner and 'A/P' on bottom left.
Gallery label
Cameraless Photography

Barbara and Zafer Baran (b.1956 and 1955)
Dahlia #120 from the series The Flower Cabinet
2003
Pigment print
31.9 x 31.9 cm
Given by the artists
Museum no. E.343-2005

This luminous image was made by placing a flower directly onto a scanner; light passing through the translucent petals revealed its hidden parts. It is part of a series commissioned by Royal Mail and was used as the basis for a set of postage stamps celebrating the Royal Horticultural Society bicentenary in 2004.
Credit line
Given by the photographers
Object history
The Royal Horticultural Society commissioned the Barans to make these botanical images to be featured on postage stamps in celebration of the Society's bicentenary (1804-2004).
Subject depicted
Flowers (Plants)
Summary
Barbara and Zafer Baran collaborate to make striking images of botanical specimens using digital scanning techniques and ink-jet printing. They place the specimens directly onto the scanner. Light passes through the transparent leaves and petals of the plants to reveal a luminous inner structure. These cameraless images are reminiscent of the photograms of early photographers such as William Henry Fox Talbot and Anna Atkins, made by simply placing objects between light-sensitive paper or film and a light source.

The Royal Horticultural Society commissioned the Barans in 2004 to make these botanical images to be featured on postage stamps in celebration of the society’s bicentenary.
Bibliographic reference
Baran, Barbara and Baran, Zafer. The Flower Cabinet. London: The Blue Gallery, 2004.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.343-2005

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Record createdMay 23, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O112279/dahlia--120-photograph-baran-barbara/
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