ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Over the course of an art career that has spanned fifty years, Alexander Hamilton has explored the distinctive properties of the cyanotype process. His focus has always been to make connections with and reveal the wonders of nature. With his critically-acclaimed Peace Rose series in the early 1990s and his 4 Flowers series, exhibited at the Photographers Gallery in 1994. Into the 21st century the artist’s cyanotype work was used to present ways to reveal complex social issues, which included a ground-breaking exhibition at the Foksal Gallery, in Warsaw, Poland. Hamilton has been rewarded for his engagements with nature through numerous public art commissions, residencies and awards, including a Darwin Award from the British Council, and a Leverhulme Trust Residency at Brantwood.

PISHWANTON CYANOTYPE

During a residency at Pishwanton Wood, Alexander Hamilton created a series of cyanotypes that respond directly to the woodland environment. Using the historic photographic process, the works record traces of plants, light, and place, transforming encounters with the landscape into luminous blue images. The series explores observation, time, and the relationship between natural forms and photographic materiality, creating a visual dialogue between the forest and the act of image-making.

POPPY PETALS

‘Alexander Hamilton creates stunningly beautiful works of art. His photography has, for decades, explored the potential of the cyanotype process. This approach, rooted in the pre-history of photography, uses photosensitive paper and solutions that are exposed to sunlight. The results can be serendipitous but Hamilton’s metier, his extraordinary skill, crafts the most subtle and exquisite images.’

Dr Tom Normand HRSA Honorary Research Fellow School of Art History, University of St Andrews

Work Details

  • Pishwanton Cyanotype

  • Cyanotype

  • 127 × 84 cm

  • Unique

  • £4,500 (framed)

  • In Search of the Blue Flower: Alexander Hamilton and the Art of Cyanotype Scottish Photographic Artists Series1 Published April 2023.

    168 pages. 140 colour and black and white images. 265mmx210mm Hardback £30. Softback £20. ISBN 978-1-8383822-6-1 Publishers: Studies in Photography (www.studiesinphotography.com)