Final Major Project Proposal

In Search Of Dark Skies

Objectives

Fig.2: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 2.

Project overview

1.

I am frequently awoken by intrusive projections on my bedroom wall. Lit entirely by artificial light, it is as though my house has become a giant camera, the windows serving as apertures and the walls becoming a canvas for what is being projected. Except this time, the light entering is artificial and unwanted. It’s source is the nearby Changi Airport, one of the busiest in the world and undergoing extensive expansion.

Most of us are familiar with air, water and land pollution, but unaware that light itself can also be a pollutant. According to one article in National Geographic, light pollution is “One of the most chronic environmental perturbations on Earth.” [1]

Singapore has been named the country with the worst level of light pollution in the world, with a pollution level of 100 per cent.[2] Due to these immense levels, people in Singapore are unable to see 99.5% of all the stars present in the night sky.

I have since begun recording through alternative photographic processes, the impact of artificial light on our environment. With this Final Major Project I would now like to focus particularly on the extent to which light pollution invades our most precious personal space: our homes.

. Nationalgeographic.com.

at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/nights-are-getting-brighter-earth-paying-the-price-light-

https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001 [accessed 30 May 2023].

Fig.3: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 3.

DRAKE, N. 2019. Our Nights Are Getting Brighter, And Earth Is Paying The Price

Available

pollution-dark-skies [accessed 28 May 2023].

2. FALCHI, Fabio; CINZANO, Pierantonio; DURISCOE, Dan; KYBA, Christopher C. M.; ELVIDGE, Christopher D.; BAUGH, Kimberly; PORTNOV, Boris; RYBNIKOVA, Nataliya A.; FURGONI, Riccardo. 2016. Supplement to: The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness. V. 1.1. GFZ Data Services. Available at:

Objectives

1. To raise awareness of the extent to which light pollution invades our privacy and homes in Singapore.

2. To develop my own practice and understand my place within contemporary photographic theory and practitioners.

3. To build collaborative relationships with other artistic practitioners, suppliers, production partners, distributors, curators or media platforms whenever possible.

4. To explore cameraless and lensless techniques and embrace a photographic style freed from its “traditional subservient role as a realistic mode of representation and allowed instead to become a searing index of its own operations, to become an art of the real.” [3]

5. To consider presentation techniques and approaches that are appropriate considering the themes, intent and carbon footprint for this project.

Fig.4: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 4.

3. BATCHEN, Geoffrey. 2016. Emanations: The Art of the Cameraless Photograph. Germany: Prestel.

Concerns

1. Representation. Photography has long been recognized as a powerful tool for representation because it has the ability to capture a moment in time and visually communicate ideas and experiences. The way subjects are represented in photographs can influence how they are perceived and understood by viewers. It is a complex and multifaceted concept, influenced by various technical, artistic, cultural, and ethical factors. How will my visual choices shape and influence how my concept and subject matter are perceived?

2. Sustaining an ethical practice. When exploring an environmental theme or subject, a photographer can be seen to assume a set of moral standards or beliefs. He/ she could be seen as hypocritical or insensitive if their practice and methods contradict the ethical or moral stance assumed in their work. I will seek to ensure I don’t undermine the credibility of myself and my project by maximising sustainable processes and materials wherever possible.

3. The paradox of sustainability. Some argue that consumer-oriented societies are socially and ecologically self-destructive.[4] Therefore the development of civilisation is inherently unsustainable. How does my practice and this project address this concern?

Fig.5: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 5.

4. KEVLAR, Marlon. 2014. Eco-Economics On The Horizon. Green Score. [A whitepaper that examines the mindset required by civilization if humanity is to achieve sustainability with the biosphere].

Themes

1. The symbolism of darkness and light. This has been deeply ingrained in human culture and literature for centuries. These concepts often carry a range of symbolic meanings that vary depending on cultural, religious, and personal contexts. This project subverts the traditional view of light being the creative, positive, illuminating force in the universe and darkness as it’s binary opposite, a force which extinguishes, eclipses and swallows.[5] People and biodiversity require a natural balance in which darkness is just as essential as light in sustaining the health of ourselves and the environment.

2. The relationship between art and science. The relationship between art and science in photography is a fascinating and dynamic one. On the surface, photography can be seen as a scientific process that involves capturing light and recording it onto a photosensitive surface. However, photography is also a highly creative and expressive art form, allowing photographers to convey emotions, tell stories, and explore aesthetic concepts. Where will this project fit within such definitions?

3. Intrusion. Where typically a photographer may be accused of intrusion into someones personal space or property, in this case I am the one being intruded upon as light enters my home uninvited. How will this tension manifest itself in my project?

Fig.6: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 6.

5. ARAS (Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism). 2010. The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images. Tascher.

Proposed exhibition

As this project proposal focuses on the condition of living with light pollution, it feels appropriate and relevant to let my audience experience the work in the very place it was created: my home.

I intend to place and exhibit the images in the very same locations they were exposed around my house so the viewer can experience the amount of artificial light that intrudes various spaces [Fig.7].

In addition to the conceptual relevance, hosting the exhibition in my own house greatly reduces the logistics and accompanying travel, production, power consumption and resources involved with exhibiting in a more traditional gallery space, therefore reducing the projects carbon footprint.

Using one’s house as an exhibition space has been done before by photographers such as Mark Duffy whose images for his project ‘In The Wake Of Brexit’ were installed in each room of his house to make visible and exaggerate the experience of ‘living with Brexit’ over a period of one month [Fig.8].

Public audiences were encouraged to enter the house, open drawers and cupboards and scrutinise political, personal and collective narratives of Brexit. Inspired by this approach, I will explore how my narrative could be further expressed through various features of my house.

Fig.7: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 7.

Fig.8: Duffy. 2019. In The Wake Of Brexit.

Dates reflect the first Monday of the month/last monday of the previous month

Peer learning chat

Research of eco-friendly photographic emulsions

In the initial stages will explore coating various handmade papers/materials using a range of less harmful chemicals such as Anthotype, Caffenol, Chlorophyl, Cyanotype and other experimental processes to capture artificial light in my home

Image creation

On a twice weekly basis, I will originate new photographic artworks with the above processes

Digitalisation of artworks

For sharing on social media and archiving

Critical feedback

Display/ presentation research

Research and discuss with potential vendors

Presentation/installation

To begin work on display/presentation concepts within my home

Define reading list

In order to contextualise the work within the latest photographic theory, I will research the latest relevant practitioners and theory

Impact Assessment Plan

Social impact

Today, over half the world’s population live in cities. According to research from the UN, 2.5 billion more people will be living in cities by 2050.[6] By focusing on the light pollution within my own house, I hope to draw attention to the extent that artificial light invades our most intimate of spaces, our homes where it disrupts the human circadian rhythm leading to significant physical and psychological problems that are only just beginning to be understood.[7]

Directly connected with overpopulation, errant light pollution also mortally affects migrating birds, fish, bats, sea turtles and other wildlife. It is also a contributing factor in the decline of insect populations, and consequently invaluable ecosystems.

I hope that through my exhibition, I will be able to invite a targeted audience (i.e. members of the local councils/committees) into my own home, which will convey the personal and intimate nature of light pollution and intrusion. I will be able to display the artworks for a long as necessary as I am not beholden to working within a commercial gallery space.

Hopefully with positive press coverage, social media engagement and exposure in industry publications, the exhibition will generate interest and awareness in a subject that is such a threat to both our health and that of our environment.

6. Source: UN News. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/desa/around-25-billion-more-people-will-be-living-cities-2050-projects-new-un-report [accessed 8 June 2023].

For more information visit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5897701.

Fig.12: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No.8.

Impact Assessment Plan

Carbon budget

My personal carbon footprint is just below the Singapore average. I have implemented several lifestyle choices that influence the processes and methods in my professional practice such as cycling and using public transport. Whilst the topic of my research project is large in significance, the means by which I intend to produce it are small. As I already live in the most light polluted country and city in the world, by default I have mitigated unnecessary air travel and accommodation by keeping the project parameters ‘local’.[8]

Nevertheless, I have calculated a Carbon Footprint analysis to identify areas in which I can further reduce my carbon footprint and strive to uphold the values of this project [Fig. 11].[9]

It is interesting to note how ‘Materials and Resources’ and ‘Online Media, Platforms and Cloud Storage’ will contribute the most CO2 to my project. Although the overall impact is not huge, I will endeavour to reduce it as detailed on the following page.

Total CO2 tonnes for this project = 0.7025

9. For these estimations I used the carbon calculators carbonfootprint.com, pawprint.eco and footprint.wwf.org.uk.

Fig. 11: My Estimated Final Major Project Carbon Footprint.

Travel (MRT) Travel (Bus)

Materials and Resources

Online Media, Platforms and Cloud Storage

8. In a report by Adgreen entitles ‘The Industries Impact’, it is suggested the two biggest contributing factors to carbon emissions on a typical photographic shoot are travel and accommodation (especially where an ad agency is involved). Available at: https://weareadgreen.org [accessed 20 May 2023].

Electricity*

* Energy usage comes mostly under my home consumption - for example computer usage, digital file storage, battery charging etc. My home energy provider (SP power) provides

renewable electricity.

Impact Assessment Plan

Materials & resources

Materials and Resources contribute the most to my carbon footprint. The principal materials that will I use for my project are: a camera (used to document my process even though my intended methodology is cameraless), batteries, a computer, a range of sustainable developing chemicals, acrylic inks and wetting/thickening agents, cyanotype solutions, photographic paper, homemade paper, 10x8 film holders, a scanner, a monitor, a mobile phone.

To mitigate the impact in my own practice, I will employ the following methods:

• Buy second-hand photographic equipment if needed to reduce wastage in camera manufacture.

• Unplug my devices to reduce energy drain.

• Use rechargeable batteries.

• Use solar powered charging methods.

• Use LED darkroom enlarger lamp for power efficiency.

• Buy ethically from companies who strive for environmental change.

• Sell, donate, re-purpose, or dispose of old equipment properly.

• Switch to environmentally-friendly photography products.

• Use best practices for analogue photography by using new breed of eco-friendly darkroom chemicals.[10]

• Investigate cloud storage providers that power their data centers with a high percentage of renewable energy.

Transport & accommodation

I have mitigated most travel and accommodation expenses for this project by choosing to record light pollution within the confines of my own home. This will keep the project parameters very ‘local’.

I regularly cycle to my suppliers (weather permitting) to buy materials, and use a Tern folding bicycle which allows me to take it on public transport if the weather is bad.

For both cycling and walking I use the expanding PCN (Park Connector Network) in Singapore for travel related to this project. [11]

I also intend to use public transport as a secondary option whenever possible.[12]

Accommodation and related resources/expenses will not be required for this project, further reducing the projects carbon footprint.

Singapore will increase its train network from 230km today to 360km by 2030. This will bring 8 in 10 homes within a 10-minute walk from a train station. By 2040, all public buses and taxis in Singapore will run on cleaner energy.

10. Visit https://sustainabledarkroom.com for more information

11. Singapore is already home to a comprehensive, 440km-long network of cycling paths. This number is set to triple by 2030, making it even easier to commute to work..

Impact Assessment Plan

Suppliers & partners

I consciously choose photographic manufacturers, suppliers and partners that embrace sustainability whenever possible. My computer is made by Apple. I already have a Macbook Pro that uses recycled plastic, recycled tin, and recycled rare earth elements. [13]

Whilst my project aims to be cameraless, I may intend from time to time, to utilize lensless techniques. When doing so i use an ONDU 4x5 pinhole camera which is handcrafted using sustainable harvested Slovenian timber, and as a low form of technology drastically reduce the use of plastics, resins, metals, minerals, and toxic by-products during manufacture. Using a simple hole as an aperture, the lack of a modern lens significantly reduces material and waste.

By choosing ecologically friendly developing processes and chemicals such as seaweed, coffee, vitamin C, baking soda, turmeric, mint, pelargonium leaves; St. John’s Wort etc, I choose to support local and organic suppliers who are committed to sustainable business practices.

I ensure any old photographic equipment not necessary for my future practice is either sold on the second hand market or disposed of in a sustainable and regulatory-approved way.

Fig.12: Davies 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No.8.

Bibliography

ABEL-HIRSCH, Hannah. 2018. Photography and the environment: Three perspectives. 1854 Photography. Available at: https://www.1854.photography/2018/07/what-role-does-photography-play-in-thecurrent-environmental-crisis [accessed 29 May 2023].

ADAMS, Ansel. 1956. Artificial Light Photography. New York: Morgan and Morgan.

ALEXANDER, J.A.P. 2015. Perspectives on Place. Bloomsbury.

ARAS (Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism). 2010. The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images. Tascher.

BARNES, Martin. 2018. Cameraless Photography. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd (In association with the Victoria and Albert Museum).

BARNES, Martin. 2012 Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography. London: Perseus Distribution Services.

BARTHES, Roland. 1993. Camera Lucida: Reflections on photography. London: Vintage Classics.

BARTHES, Roland. 1977. Image-Music-Text. New York: Hill and Wang.

BATCHEN, Geoffrey. 2016. Emanations: The Art of the Cameraless Photograph. Germany: Prestel.

BATCHEN, Geoffrey. 2014. ‘Photography: An Art of the Real’ in: What is a Photograph? (ed.) Carol Squiers. Munich: DelMonico Books-Prestel.

BATCHEN, Geoffrey. 2012. Photography and Authorship. Still Searching blog, Winterthur Fotomuseum, October 7. Available online: http://blog.fotomuseum.ch/2012/10/4-photography-and-authorship [accessed June 10 2023].

BERGER, John. 1972. Ways of seeing. London: Penguin.

BOGARD, Paul. 2013. The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light. North America: Little, Brown and Company.

BORTLE, John E. 2001. Gauging Light Pollution: The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale. Sky & Telescope. Sky Publishing Corporation [accessed 29 May 2023].

CONOHAR, Scott. 2022. Photography and Environmental Activism: Visualising the Struggle Against Industrial Pollution. Routledge.

COTTON, Charlotte 2014. The Photograph as Contemporary Art. Thames & Hudson.

DRAKE, N. 2019. Our Nights Are Getting Brighter, And Earth Is Paying The Price. Nationalgeographic.com. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/nights-are-getting-brighter-earthpaying-the-price-light-pollution-dark-skies [accessed 28 May 2023].

FALCHI, Fabio; CINZANO, Pierantonio; DURISCOE, Dan; KYBA, Christopher C. M.; ELVIDGE, Christopher D.; BAUGH, Kimberly; PORTNOV, Boris; RYBNIKOVA, Nataliya A.; FURGONI, Riccardo. 2016. Supplement to: The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness. V. 1.1. GFZ Data Services. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001 [accessed 3 June 2023].

HEIFERMAN, Marvin. 2019. Seeing Science: How Photography Reveals the Universe. New York: Aperture.

KEVLAR, Marlon. 2014. Eco-Economics On The Horizon. Green Score. Available at: https://greenscore.eco/articles/eco-economics-20141013 [accessed June 8 2023].

LEVI-STRAUSS, David. 2020. Photography and Belief. New York: David Zwirner.

MAUGHAN-CARR, Edward. 2019. The Ecology of Grain: An Ecological Analysis of Gelatin in Photographic Film. Thesis for: MA Contemporary Art Practice. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/341515258_The_Ecology_of_Grain_An_Ecological_Analysis_of_Gelatin_in_Photographic_Film [accessed 6 June 2023].

MIZON, Bob. 2012. Light Pollution: Responses and Remedies. Springer.

SEAWRIGHT, Paul. 2001. The Forest. [Edited by Christine Redmond and Val Williams]. Publisher unknown.

SEELIG, Michelle I. 2015. Communicating the Environment Beyond Photography. Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers.

SCHIVELBUSCH, Wolfgang.1995. Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century. University of California Press.

SONTAG, Susan. 1978. On Photography. London: Allen Lane.

WOON, Wallace. 2019. Singapore stars lost in night sky as light pollution shines the brightest. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/photography/singapore-light-pollution-stars-losturban-environment-a8968931.html [accessed 2 June 2023].

Figures

Fig. 1: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 1. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 2: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 2. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 3: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 3. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 4: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 4. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 5: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 5. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 6: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 6. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 7: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 7. Private Collection: Robert Davies.

Fig. 8: Mark DUFFY. 2019. In The Wake Of Brexit. Available at https://www.markduffyphotographer.com/in-the-wake-of-brexit [accessed 16 June 2023]

Fig. 9: My Carbon Footprint. 2023. Graphics by the author.

Fig. 10: How I compare. 2023. Graphics by the author.

Fig. 11: My Estimated Research Project Carbon Footprint. 2023. Graphics by the author.

Fig. 12: Robert DAVIES. 2023. In Search of Dark Skies, No. 8. Private Collection: Robert Davies.