Michael Joseph (1941-) - Solo swimmer - cyanotype

Justine Joseph
Solo Swimmer - Botanical Reverie
From a photograph by Michael Joseph

Unique Botanical Cyanotype – created in 2026

From a photograph by: Michael Joseph from 1987
Process: Handmade cyanotype with integral botanical photogram overlay
Unique work - mount size 30cm high by 24cm wide

There is a wonderful honesty at the heart of this image.

Rather than revealing everything at once, it quietly invites the imagination to participate. What emerges depends entirely upon the person standing before it. For some, the delicate circular forms drift like bubbles rising through deep water. Others may see floating balloons suspended in a summer sky, while another viewer might discover a veil of dreamy clouds slowly passing across an unseen landscape. There is no single interpretation - and that is precisely its quiet charm.

Created from one of Michael Joseph's original photographs, the image has been transformed through the cyanotype process into something that hovers between memory and mystery. During exposure, living botanical specimens were placed directly onto the sensitised paper, allowing leaves and stems to leave their own luminous imprint. Nature becomes collaborator rather than decoration, softening the original photograph and encouraging it to evolve into something altogether more atmospheric.

The rich Prussian blues possess remarkable depth and delicacy. Across this velvety field, translucent botanical forms seem to float, flicker and fade, creating a composition that feels fluid, fragile and forever changing. The image rewards slow looking; every return reveals fresh forms, hidden harmonies and subtle surprises.

There is something deeply satisfying about an artwork that refuses certainty. Instead of dictating a narrative, it leaves space for curiosity and contemplation. It celebrates the delightful unpredictability of creative thought, where one person's bubbles become another's balloons, celestial clouds, floating lily pads or distant planets. Every interpretation is equally valid, because the artwork is completed not only by light and chemistry, but by the imagination of its viewer.

As with every handmade cyanotype, chance remains an essential collaborator. Sunshine, humidity, chemistry and exposure each leave their own subtle signature. No two prints can ever be recreated precisely, making every tonal shift and botanical silhouette part of the work's unique identity.

Created by Michael Joseph's daughter, this cyanotype forms part of an ongoing exploration into how historic photographs can be reimagined through alternative photographic processes. Rather than preserving the original image unchanged, the cyanotype allows it to blossom into something new - acquiring fresh textures, fresh meanings and a fresh visual vocabulary rooted in light, landscape and lived experience.

Presented within a crisp white conservation mount, the luminous blues appear even more vibrant, while the clean border lends balance and breathing space to the composition. The simplicity of the mount beautifully complements the organic complexity of the image itself.

The result is both timeless and contemporary - a one-of-a-kind artwork where photography, plants, chemistry and imagination converge.

Why this piece?
Unique handmade botanical cyanotype created in 2026
Produced from an original photograph by Michael Joseph
Botanical photogram created directly during exposure
Rich, radiant Prussian-blue tones characteristic of traditional cyanotypes
Beautifully presented in a crisp white conservation mount
Every work is entirely unique and impossible to replicate
A harmonious fusion of archival photography, botanical beauty and photographic chemistry
Part of Justine Joseph's ongoing cyanotype reinterpretation series

A photograph transformed into a poetic playground - where bubbles become balloons, blossoms become constellations, and every viewer discovers a different dream.

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