In this book by Karin Schmuck, starry skies and new visions of the cosmos take form on emulsified paper and fabrics, hence the title, taken from a philosophical citation by Immanuel Kant at the end of his Critique of Practical Reason: “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.”
Since the early 2000s, when she began experimenting with the camera obscura, directly impressing materials and objects against photosensitive media, Schmuck’s approach has been guided by a precise set of principles, duties and values. In 2016, she began working with cyanotype, a photographic printing technique dating from the first half of the nineteenth century that exploits the chemical reaction of iron salts to sunlight to create characteristic Prussian blue images.
About the artist:
Karin Schmuck was born in Bolzano in 1981. After studying painting in urbino and mastering artistic glasswork techniques, she specialised in photography at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna. Alongside her long-term projects, which explore the theme of borders and incorporate walking as an integral part of her artistic practice, she has spent recent years experimenting with photosensitive materials and camera-less photographic techniques. She lives and works in Bolzano, Italy.
Festival Exhibition Exchange:
www.analoguephotofestival.com
