For the Stardust residency this year, I set up a DIY darkroom in the Watch This Space pantry, furnished with old equipment that I collected in the Adelaide Hills. I ran three workshops where we practiced developing a roll of 35mm film using instant coffee, vitamin C, and washing soda, paired with an eco-fixer.

During the darkroom workshops, we began with a question:

What is an image that has stayed in your memory, or an image that you would like to make?

(The image could be real or imagined: a photograph that you found, or a memory from a dream.)

The images that were spoken of had disintegrated in floods or fires,

images of people on distant shorelines,

a hand holding a photo that dissolved into ash,

and a dream of a long corridor leading to this same darkroom.

- - - - - - - -

The Watch This Space darkroom is intended to be low in toxicity, using everyday household items to develop images. Traditional analogue film processing relies on single-use chemical developers that must be disposed of as hazardous waste and are toxic to the skin and respiratory system, making analogue-based photography a hazardous medium for both bodies and the environment. However, it is easy to make a developer that can be safely poured down the drain instead of taken to a hazardous waste facility.

Homemade eco photo developer requires plant matter with a strong smell or taste. I collected local White Cypress Pine (Irlweke) and Rock Fuschia (Arrethe) from Ilparpa to develop photos.

Here is a recipe in progress for the Irlweke White Cypress Pine photo developer:

Ingredients:

• Water
• Irlweke (White Cypress Pine) needles, or other foraged plant matter that is pungent in taste or smell
• 50 g sodium carbonate (washing soda)
• 10 g ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder)

(Since botanical phenols vary by season and batch strength, I suggest using a test strip or clip test before developing a whole roll of film.)

Instructions:

1. Soak pine needles or plant matter in water overnight.
2. Boil pine needles in 300 ml water for approx. 10 minutes, then allow to cool.
3. Add sodium carbonate and ascorbic acid, then mix well.
4. Chill to 20°C.
5. Develop 400 ISO film for 13 to 15 minutes, with continuous gentle inversions for the first 60 seconds, then 3 to 4 inversions every 60 seconds.

Finally, stay tuned - as darkroom workshop participants will showcase our experimental works in a group exhibition taking place on November 6th !!!