We can so easily see a facsimile of reality in a surreal vibrant blue monochromatic cyanotype image and then normalize the blue so it becomes secondary. It’s a reminder of how easily our brains can become accustomed to the unusual. We live in a moment when all sorts of profound and troubling changes have become the “new normal”. Cyanotypes have become a lens through which I’ve been pondering the normalization of assaults on things I hold dear.
My project “Blue is the New Normal” is centered on a series of cyanotype images of Little Traverse Bay on Lake Michigan in a variety of seasons and moods. On the surface the bay is stunningly beautiful, but the sand is littered with plastic, invasive species are crowding out native ones, and just beyond the mouth of the bay sit eight casks of nuclear fuel and waste that could release radiation greatly exceeding Chernobyl or Hiroshima.