Recycle, reuse, reclaim

This box is not a box

Introduction to Jo Howell

I am a 38 year old working class female artist from Sunderland, in the North East of England. I work predominantly in the cyanotype photography process, and I design participation led projects with an ethos of art for everyone. I have several projects that I’m proud of #wearexperimenting, Look and Inspire pinhole photography project, Me and Mary Eleanor; and I am currently working on a sculpture trail in Durham. I will be using cyanotypes and photographs from community workshops to inform the installations.

This box is not a box

London Alternative Photography put a shout out for innovative ways of reusing byproducts of the darkroom. My challenge was to use something we generally would throw away to make a piece of art. This appealed to me because I believe everything is essentially a blank canvas. Working with cyanotype solutions you can use so many different surfaces to print on. This opens up a world of possibilities, and in truth, becomes a bit addictive.

From the pulp

In addition to printing directly onto the surfaces of the box, I also used ripped test prints, old acetate negatives, ribbon, and an embossed label machine to build texture. I wanted the piece to be both art and sketchbook. I aimed for a loose connection to the process of paper and box making, but mostly I just allowed freedom of expression. This box is for thinking outside of the box. 

Thank you for reading ❤️ this work was created in 2021, but I forgot to share it on my blog! Now sold and with a private collector.