Sun Sensitive Artwork
Term: 2 Year: 2007
Photographic images without a camera
As part of a unit titled ‘People, Plants and Place’, Year Four students at Penleigh and Essendon
Grammar explored the importance of plants in our lives beyond our dependency on them for food. They
investigated our appreciation and inclusion of plants in everyday life and examined the ways in which
artists have represented their observations and ideas of the natural environment.
The grounds and gardens at Penleigh were one of the main sources of inspiration for this unit.
- The ‘Light Sensitive’ catalogue from the NGVA was also used as it contains some large
photograms by contemporary Australian photographers.
- For this lesson, students collected interesting leaves from the gardens of Penleigh.
- Zart’s Sun Sensitive PaperĀ ‘Solargraphics’ was then used to capture a
ghostly and beautiful blue x-ray image of the individual shapes of the found leaves.
- The simple instructions and minimal equipment required are clearly indicated on the packaging
of the paper product.
- The students were excited by the magic of the process and fascinated with the resultant ghostly
images.
Level 4
Penleigh & Essendon Grammar