Shell collecting was a striking phenomenon in early modern Europe, occupying aristocrats and apothecaries, scholars and tradesmen, men and women, connoisseurs, artists and art lovers, and enthusiasts for interior design. The exoticism of the most fashionable shells excited many, coming as they did from such distant shores such as the Pacific and the West Indies. Their variegated colours and intriguing forms inspired pleasure, curiosity, introspection and the wonder of the variety in our amazing natural world. I’ve been collecting shells since I was a child, and have a meagre Cabinet of Curiosities, but it’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve focussed on ‘shell’ compositions which aim to reference the art of the still life genre.
Also known as Giclee prints or bubble-jet prints, pigment ink-jet prints are generated by computer printers from digital or scanned files using dye-based or pigment-based inks. A series of nozzles spray tiny droplets of ink onto the paper surface in a precise pattern that corresponds to the digital image file. In dye-based prints the ink soaks into the paper, whereas in pigment-based prints the ink rests and dries on top of the paper surface.
Whilst the term is broad, pigment ink-jet prints have come to be associated with prints produced on fine art papers. They are the most versatile and archival method of printing available to photographers today. A wide variety of material on which an image can be printed with such inks are available, including various textures and finishes such as matte photo paper, watercolour paper, cotton canvas or pre-coated canvas.
