• 'My work attempts to highlight the mistakes, mistranslations and loss of knowledge in the social documentation of Kaurna culture by...

    'My work attempts to highlight the mistakes, mistranslations and loss of knowledge in the social documentation of Kaurna culture by European colonists'

    Kaurna artist James Tylor uses the historical 19th century photographic process of the Becquerel daguerreotype to create contemporary images that re-contextualise the representation of Australian society and history. Photography was historically used to document First Nations Peoples and the European colonisation of Australia.

     

    'The Darkness of Enlightenment starts as an idea. In this case, it's the interaction between Kaurna and the colonists who had documented language on the frontier of South Australia. I'm predominantly a landscape photographer, so l use landscape to talk about that interaction, visiting places where that transaction of language happened and areas that were transmission points between the colonists and Kaurna.' – James Tylor

     

    These 16 daguerreotypes extend James' installation of daggeureotypes in the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony at the National Gallery of Australia.

     

    Optional leather and kangaroo skin cases are available for $550.

  • in collaboration with Rachel Handley
    wool, Minarri desert grass & car wheel
    59 x 60 x 53 cm

    $5,500.00

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  • The making of The Darkness of Enlightenment.

    Here, James takes us through the process of creating The Darkness of Enlightenment, his new series of daguerreotypes for Ceremony that explores 19th century European recordings of Kaurna language and culture during the British colonisation of the Kaurna nation in South Australia.

     
    Photograph of James Tylor in his studio exposing the silver plate to iodine gas to make it light senstive

    1. Exposing the silver plate to iodine gas to make it light sensitive.

    Detail of a proof sheet of 12 daguerreotypes by James Tylor

    2. Exposing the daguerreotypes using the contact printing method.

    James Tylor, in olive chinos, grey knit and black and white Adidas trainers, reaches down to touch one of 6 daguerreotypes exposing in the sunshine

    3. The Becquerel developing method of exposing the daguerreotype in the UV light of the sun.

    Detail of the blue flame of a blow torch heating the daguerreotype

    4. Heating the daguerreotype with a blowtorch during the gold guilding to stablise the image.

     

    Photograph of James Tylor heating the silver plate during the gold gilding process

    5. Heating the silver plate during the gold gilding process.

    Detail of James Tylor's hand holding a finished daguerreotype photographic plate

    6. Inspecting the finished daguerreotype, before sealing the image behind museum glass.

    Photo graph of James Tylor sealing the silver plate of the daguerreotype behind glass

    7. Sealing the silver plate of the daguerreotype behind glass.

    Photograph of James Tylor looking at the polished silver plates

    8. Looking at the polished silver plates.