Natural Magic: Experiments in Photography

Event date
17 Mar 2023 to 4 Jun 2023
Event time
10:00 - 17:00
Venue
Bodleian Library
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BG
Venue details

Transept

Event type
Exhibitions
Event cost
Free
Disabled access?
Yes
Booking required
Not required

Photography was invented by a network of chemical experimenters. Little by little, they discovered the photosensitive properties of precious metals and learned to capture images from life on a chemical emulsion of silver nitrate, or iron, or gold, or ground up vegetables.

Today’s digital photography feels a long way from the experiments of the 19th century, but an intrepid society of alchemists is reviving the processes of the past and creating new approaches to darkroom photography.

Natural Magic features work by Megan Ringrose, Nettie Edwards, Karel Doing, Andrés Pardo, and Garry Fabian Miller – artists who have spent a lifetime exploring the chemical potentials of photography.