Pierre Cordier, born in Brussels, invented the chemigram in 1956 and has pioneered its artistic development ever since. Working like a painter, Cordier replaces the canvas with photographic paper. Changes in shape and pattern are created both deliberately and randomly by introducing scratched marks, varnish, wax, oil, glue, syrup, egg and other materials. Physical reactions of these layers, often made after repeatedly dipping the paper in developer and fixer, are registered on the photosensitive emulsion. The chemigram is a camera-less technique, but it is not a photograph nor a photogram since it does not rely solely on light to produce the image. Nor can it be described as a print, since negatives or printing plates are not involved and the result is unique. In Cordier’s work, the process itself becomes the artwork.