On loan

  • On short term loan out for exhibition

Breathing in the Beech Wood, Homeland, Dartmoor, Twenty-Four Days of Sunlight

Photograph
2004 (made)
Artist/Maker
Fabian Miller, Garry (maker)
Place of origin
Devon (made)

Fabian Miller is a pioneer of the contemporary camera-less photographic image. This work represents his return to nature after a period exploring abstractions in light and colour. The leaves came from several trees and were gathered over a 24-day period in spring. Each vertical row of nine leaves represents one day of collecting and printing. Their careful arrangement shows the gradual effect of chlorophyll entering the leaf to make it green, offering a comparison between this process and photography, both of which rely on the transforming power of light.

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Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleBreathing in the Beech Wood, Homeland, Dartmoor, Twenty-Four Days of Sunlight (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Light, leaves, dye destruction print
Photographic Paper
Silver-Dye Bleach Process
Brief description
Photograph, 'Breathing in the Beech Wood, Homeland, Dartmoor, Twenty-Four Days of Sunlight', dye destruction print, by Garry Fabian Miller, 2004
Physical description
Photograph with 81 images of leaves printed from several different trees.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 268mm
  • Image width: 390mm
  • Sheet height: 303mm
  • Sheet width: 404mm
  • Height: 162cm
  • Width: 162cm
  • Depth: 5cm
Gallery label
Photography Centre, 2018-20:

Garry Fabian Miller (born 1957)
Breathing in the Beech Wood, Homeland, Dartmoor, Twenty-Four Days of Sunlight, May 2004
2004

Over 24 days, Miller gathered leaves and placed them into a photographic enlarger, using them instead of negatives or transparencies to project their images onto photographic paper. Each column of nine leaves represents one day of collecting and printing. The arrangement shows chlorophyll gradually turning the leaves green, offering a comparison between the process and photography, both of which rely on the transformative power of light.

Dye destruction prints
Museum no. E.529-2005
Cameraless Photography

Garry Fabian Miller (b.1957)
Breathing in the Beech Wood, Homeland, Dartmoor, Twenty–Four Days of Sunlight, May 2004
2004
Dye destruction prints
162 x 162 cm
Museum no. E.529-2005

To make this image, Fabian Miller gathered leaves over 24-days in spring. He placed them into a photographic enlarger, using them instead of a negative or transparency to project their image onto photographic paper. Each vertical row represents one day of collecting and printing. The arrangement shows the gradual effect of chlorophyll entering the leaf to make it green. It offers a comparison between this process and photography, both of which rely on the transforming power of light.
Credit line
Given by the artist. Copyright Garry Fabian Miller
Production
Attribution note: Silver-dye bleach process, also called dye destruction print. These color prints are made from a color transparency or negative in which the print material has, at the outset, at least three emulsion layers of silver salts.
Subject depicted
Leaves
Summary
Fabian Miller is a pioneer of the contemporary camera-less photographic image. This work represents his return to nature after a period exploring abstractions in light and colour. The leaves came from several trees and were gathered over a 24-day period in spring. Each vertical row of nine leaves represents one day of collecting and printing. Their careful arrangement shows the gradual effect of chlorophyll entering the leaf to make it green, offering a comparison between this process and photography, both of which rely on the transforming power of light.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.529-2005

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Record createdJanuary 24, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O130975/breathing-in-the-beech-wood-photograph-fabian-miller-garry/
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