Not on display

Shoreline, October 5 1998

Photograph
1998 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Derges, Susan (photographer)
Place of origin
Devon (photographed)

This photograph was made without the use of a camera. The ‘camera-less’ method was not used as an end in itself but to create a striking and mysterious image. On the Devon coastline at night Derges submerged the sheet of photographic paper in the sea. As a wave broke over it she fired a flash from above. The resulting image captures the intricate patterns in the swirl of water and trails of sand.

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Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleShoreline, October 5 1998 (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Cibachrome photogram
Brief description
'Shoreline, October 5 1998', photograph by Susan Derges (born 1955)
Physical description
Image of intricate patterns in the swirl of sea water and trails of sand.
Dimensions
  • Framed height: 106.7cm
  • Framed width: 213.4cm
Gallery label
(19/10/2005)
'Camera-less' photography: recent gifts to the collection

The contemporary photographs in this room have all been made without the use of a camera. The artists - Garry Fabian Miller, Susan Derges and Barbara and Zafer Baran - each use different 'camera-less' methods, not as an end in themselves, but to create striking and mysterious imagery.

Fabian Miller's Night Tower, 3 (2001) was made in the artist's darkroom. He shone light through a blue glass vessel and over cut paper shapes to record the shadows and colour directly onto photographic paper. The shapes remind you perhaps of a skyscraper seen at night.

Derges made Shoreline, October 5 (1998) on the Devon coastline at night. She submerged the sheet of photographic paper in the sea. As a wave broke over it she fired a flash from above. The resulting image captures the intricate patterns in the swirl of water and trails of sand.

The Barans collaborate to make luminous images of botanical specimens, using digital scanning and inkjet printing, in a series titled Ephemera. On the scanner, light passes through leaves, petals and seeds to reveal an inner structure that appears to float in space.


With grateful acknowledgement to the donors Sir Ronald and Lady Cohen, Robert Breckman and Barbara and Zafer Baran for making the acquisition of these works possible.
(2008-2009)
This photograph - or more correctly 'photogram' - was made without the use of a camera. Susan Derges spread this sheet of colour photographic paper on a beach on the Devon coastline at night. As a wave broke over it she fired a flash from above. The paper was then returned to a lab to be processed before any image could be seen. The resulting picture captures the intricate patterns in the swirl of water and trails of sand.
Derges's working method combines elements of prediction and chance and is highly intuitive. Her images reveal the underlying patterns and forces within the natural world.
Credit line
Donated by Robert Breckman in memory of Julie. Copyright Susan Derges
Subject depicted
Sand
Summary
This photograph was made without the use of a camera. The ‘camera-less’ method was not used as an end in itself but to create a striking and mysterious image. On the Devon coastline at night Derges submerged the sheet of photographic paper in the sea. As a wave broke over it she fired a flash from above. The resulting image captures the intricate patterns in the swirl of water and trails of sand.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.528-2005

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Record createdSeptember 21, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O116903/shoreline-october-5-1998-photograph-derges-susan/
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