#photochemistry

Instax chemigram #1

Lately, I've been exploring new techniques in my analog experiments and started creating chemigrams on Fujifilm Instax Mini film. It's fascinating to see how photochemical reactions take control and create such organic, vividly colored, and completely abstract patterns on instant film. The process is entirely unpredictable, which is exactly why every single piece is unique and unrepeatable. Here is one of my favorites from this new series.

[Chemigram, Fujifilm Instax Mini]

Scientists uncover a hidden power in a common metal

A breakthrough manganese complex brings cheap, sustainable, and highly efficient photochemistry within reach.

Most chemical reactions rely on heat to move forward, but light has recently become an important alternative. Using light makes it possible to guide reactions with extremely fine control, a field known as photochemistry. Until now, many of these light-driven processes depended on ruthenium, osmium, or iridium -- elements that are costly, scarce, and create environmental concerns when mined. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now created a new metal complex built from manganese, a widely available and inexpensive element. "This metal complex sets a new standard in photochemistry: it combines a record-breaking excited-state lifetime with simple synthesis," explained Professor Katja Heinze of the JGU Department of Chemistry. "It thus offers a powerful and sustainable alternative to the noble metal complexes that have long dominated light-driven chemistry." The study recently appeared in Nature Communications.

Some other days...

"Three shadows remembering light" 2023 as part of the group show in and out of time curated by Ekow Eshun, Gallery 1957.

Production assistance from Nicholas Kwame Ansah, Yaw Donkor and Jibril Salifu

Design and Construction with Gershon Gidisu

📸 by yours truly

Featuring

Godfried Donkor

Priscilla kennedy

Zanele Muholi

Yaw Owusu

Lyle Ashtonn Harris

Serge Attukwei Clottey

Gideon Appah

Amoako Boafo

Kwesi Botchway

Tiffane Delune

Timothy Arthur

Todd Gray

Kenturah Davis

Juliann Knxx

Shiraz Bayjoo &

(via L'aquoiboniste: Champ magnétique)

anthotypes