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Artist, Ben Cauchi creates surrealistic and dreamlike photographic works, using\u00a0the technique\u00a0such as Ambrotype and Tintype, which were used in around 1850 after the Daguerreotype, the first commercially successful photographic print in the history. This old printing technique seems to be sought after\u00a0with its\u00a0capacity of printing one photograph only. Compared to other mediums such as paintings, photographic medium has been less valued due to its possibility of limitless copies. And the advanced technology added the preconception of ‘easiness’ of creating images by clicking shutters regardless they are good quality or not.<\/span><\/p>\n The term, ‘Alternative photographic process’\u00a0 was\u00a0referred for\u00a0the historical non-silver process before silver gelatin\u00a0or c-type process.\u00a0 Now the\u00a0broad term, ‘alternative’\u00a0appears to include all film processing works in this digital era.<\/span><\/p>\n My interest in photography is also started from the hand-on experience of silver gelatin process in a dark room, where I as an author of the work, could control the whole photographic process.<\/span><\/p>\n And my next\u00a0‘alternative process’ experience was Salt printing, which I developed\u00a0through the workshop run by Ellie Young at Gold Street Studios. Later, two of salt print works of self-portrait,\u00a0Untitled<\/span><\/em>\u00a0were acquired by Brunswick street gallery for the ‘2010 Small Work Prize’.<\/span><\/p>\n I have been interesting in trying ‘Photogravure’ printing to adapt\u00a0printmaking techniques to my photographic work. Now\u00a0this printing\u00a0process\u00a0is called\u00a0‘Photopolymer print’ or ‘Solar print’\u00a0 as\u00a0it utilise UV light and non toxic polymer plates are used instead of copper plates.\u00a0This technique led me to further\u00a0experiments\u00a0of other printmaking methods,\u00a0including etching, silk screen and viscosity printing.<\/span><\/p>\n
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