"Oracle Anima" by Iggy Bug
Oracle Anima
Iggy Bug
Media: Cyanotype with 24k gold Leaf
Size: 15" x 18"
Price: $600
Artist Statement:
Iggybug is a 40-something mad scientist and experimental photographer from Sacramento, California. Iggybug taught himself how to develop film and make silver gelatin prints between graduate school classes at UC Davis. He shoots with a variety of inexpensive film cameras mostly sourced from thift stores, and uses an ice fishing tent in his garage as a darkroom. Since prehistoric times, artists have struggled to capture the grace, fascination, strength, vulnerability, and raw beauty of the female form. Iggybug is proud to be a celebrant of this ancient artistic tradition, but he is aware of the perils and baggage that accompany it. Because of this, Iggybug loathes cliche and nude art that dehumanizes women and instead works to produce art that is visually compelling and emotionally rich, and that celebrates a woman's beauty, mystery, power, and sensuality. Iggybug works with the wet plate collodion, cyanotype (with hand-applied 24k gold leaf), and lumen alternative processes.
Photo Process:
The cyanotype printing process was invented in 1842 and was commonly used to print blueprints throughout the 20th century. Unlike most analog photographic processes, which commonly use silver nitrate for light sensitivity, the cyanotype process uses certain light-sensitive forms of iron. To make a cyanotype print, Iggybug mixes solutions of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide and then hand coats this solution onto a high-quality paper. The coated paper is now light-sensitive and is ready to be used to make a cyanotype print after it dries. After the cyanotype print has been exposed and developed, Iggybug painstakingly hand-applies 24k gold leaf to certain portions of the print to heighten its visual interest and to add a layer of majesty or quasi-religious intensity to the finished print. Iggybug's cyanotypes are printed on Arches Aquarelle Hot Press 100% cotton rag watercolor paper. They are archival and will last a lifetime with proper care
