Rosemary Laing produced this photograph in the aftermath of the 2001–02 New South Wales bushfires. Over 750 000 hectares were burnt in the fires, which destroyed hundreds of homes and outbuildings. Laing came across the shed shown in this image at Sussex Inlet on state’s South Coast. The shed’s metal structure and corrugated iron have been warped by the intensity of the fire. This sense of devastation is emphasised by the panoramic format of the work, which seems to distort the picture plane. Laing’s Swanfire series resonates with her general interest in tragic or absurd events in the Australian landscape, both natural and unnatural, real and staged.
(2014)
Chromogenic prints are printed on paper that has at least three emulsion layers containing invisible dyes and silver salts. Each emulsion layer is sensitive to a different primary colour of light (red, green or blue). The development process converts the hidden dyes to visible colour depending on the amount of light it was exposed to. This type of paper is commonly used to print from colour negatives or digital files to produce a full-colour image. It can also be used to print black-and-white images, giving softer grain and less contrast than gelatin silver prints. Commonly known as c-type prints, chromogenic processing was developed in the 1940s and widely used for colour printing, including for domestic snapshots. While recent years have seen this process accompanied by ink-jet and digital printing technologies, chromogenic printing still remains in use to this day.
