Reanimate

This series was created during C19 lockdown using items found around the house including the ‘impossible shoes’ (impossibly glamorous and impractical), the ‘imposter dress’ (an unworn impulse purchase from 15+ years ago), an evening dress left over from a wedding, a child’s party dress and a set of found 1940s colour negatives of women advertising everyday products. At a time when the objects around me took on new significance, I wanted to explore photographically the transformation of objects through the medium of alternative processes. My aim to suggest these objects enjoyed a liberty and life independent of my own. The images were shot on slow speed ADOX film. The shoes and dress suspended with fishing wire and lit to create drama. The colour negatives photographed, edited and reframed on a lightbox. I used a variety of processes and techniques including Lith, Lumen and Cyanotype printing to create the final images. I distressed negatives with tissue paper and incorporated additional found objects including sewing equipment and Letraset stencil as photograms during the printing process.

© Jo Stapleton - Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 1 (Lith print)
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Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 1 (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Mouth with pins. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with objects added (Lith print)
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Mouth with pins. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with objects added (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Image from the Reanimate photography project
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Face with drawing pins. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with objects added (Cyanotype print with teabag tinted hair)

© Jo Stapleton - Child's party dress lit and shot from below (Lith print)
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Child's party dress lit and shot from below (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Impossible shoe (Cyanotype)
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Impossible shoe (Cyanotype)

© Jo Stapleton - Impossible shoes with tissue paper wings (Lith print with tissue paper distressed neg)
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Impossible shoes with tissue paper wings (Lith print with tissue paper distressed neg)

© Jo Stapleton - Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire and tissue paper photogram (Lith print)
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Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire and tissue paper photogram (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 4 (Lith print with tissue paper photogram)
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Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 4 (Lith print with tissue paper photogram)

© Jo Stapleton - Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 3 (Lith print with tissue paper photogram)
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Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 3 (Lith print with tissue paper photogram)

© Jo Stapleton - Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 2 (Lith print)
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Evening dress suspended with fishing wire on Mannequin 2 (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Child's party dress. Lith print (negative distressed with tissue paper)
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Child's party dress. Lith print (negative distressed with tissue paper)

© Jo Stapleton - Crossed shoes with Letraset photogram. (Lith print)
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Crossed shoes with Letraset photogram. (Lith print)

© Jo Stapleton - Image from the Reanimate photography project
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Lady with flora (Lumen print). Found 1940s negative contact printed on B&W photographic paper with flora and exposed in the sun.

© Jo Stapleton - Image from the Reanimate photography project
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Woman with sewing equipment and teabag tinted hair. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with objects added. (Cyanotype print with additional photogram objects)

© Jo Stapleton - Eyes with sewing equipment. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with sewing equipment (B&W Chemigram print)
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Eyes with sewing equipment. Found 1940s negative rephotographed on a light box with sewing equipment (B&W Chemigram print)

© Jo Stapleton - Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire (B&W Chemigram print)
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Imposter dress suspended with fishing wire (B&W Chemigram print)

© Jo Stapleton - Ghost dress (B&W Chemigram print)
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Ghost dress (B&W Chemigram print)

© Jo Stapleton - impossible shoes with Letraset stencil photogram and teabag tinted toes (Cyanotype print)
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impossible shoes with Letraset stencil photogram and teabag tinted toes (Cyanotype print)

© Jo Stapleton - Flying shoe with ribbons. Shoe suspended with fishing wire. Lith print (negative distressed with tissue paper)
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Flying shoe with ribbons. Shoe suspended with fishing wire. Lith print (negative distressed with tissue paper)

© Jo Stapleton - Child's party dress with tissue paper. Lith print (image exposed through torn tissue paper)
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Child's party dress with tissue paper. Lith print (image exposed through torn tissue paper)

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