Almost Nothing But Blue Ground - a performative Lecture with Tom Pope and Matthew Benington

Almost Nothing But Blue Ground is a performative lecture by artists Tom Pope and Matthew Benington.

Weaving together storytelling, cyanotype prints and archival discoveries, the lecture traces the life and legacy of Anna Atkins — the trailblazing botanist and photographer who published Cyanotypes of British Algae (1843), the first book to be photographically printed and illustrated.

Tom and Matthew’s research into Atkins' pioneering work unearthed themes of botany, land ownership and the colonial roots of Victorian plant collecting.

Inspired by these discoveries, the artists undertook a weeklong walk from Atkins’ former home in Tonbridge to the coast of Hastings. Along the way, they created a new body of cyanotype photographs which are presented alongside their research in this performance.