art
Indigo Summer
A portfolio of works by Deni Javas – cyanotype prints produced during residencies in Spain and New Mexico with AADK network.
Deni’s work unfolded in the dry heat of a Spanish summer, during her residency at AADK network in Blanca, Murcia.
Investigating the fellowship theme of Body Spaciality and Territory, Deni explored the relationships between different worlds, using botany to make those connections: human and plant; ‘Old World’ Europe and ‘New World’ Americas.
Finding herself in the arid interior of Spain, Deni made a study of local botany, shaping plant materials to become the subjects of her prints.
Using esparto grass, agave, palm tree fibres and prickly pear cactus, alongside paper, feathers and cane, the artist created intricate organic sculptures before expressing their delicate nature in the cyanotope process.
The cyanotype method is challenging, especially when the entire process is done outdoors at the mercy of intense summer sun and dry air.
The distinctive blue of the cyanotype comes from the chemical reaction of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, applied to paper and exposed to light.
Deni Javas spent almost 20 years in NYC as an illustrator and designer
before moving to Santa Fe New Mexico where she began to develop her
paintings.
