Experimental art Zwerfpost Angel Curation & Criticism

En attendant, 2024-2025.

For this work, I took a photograph at low tide on the North Sea beach at the height of WN Waldersee in Oostduinkerke (Coxyde). The view within the image is oriented towards the sea horizon, from a worm’s eye perspective. Upon closer inspection, a weird element figures in the foreground: a paw print from a strange, unidentifiable animal. From afar, two sailing vessels coming from the direction of England are heading towards Nieuwpoort’s jetty. In the middle of the picture, one may observe a small bush of sea rocket, emerging near the flood line as a pregnant belly. This photograph was turned into a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions. They were washed in the darkroom with rainwater until the persistent drought of Spring 2025 in Brussels, Belgium rendered this impossible (from that time on I used tap water for washing).
Paper: BERGGER Cot 320. Frames: maple, painted white. Prints: 27 x 36 cm. Framed dimensions: 31 x 40,5 cm.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (1), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Washed with tap water. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (6), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with rosemary emulsion, and washed with rainwater (“ice water”, from snow in the garden), 15 February 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (1), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Washed with tap water. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (2), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with rosemary emulsion, washed with rainwater, 16 December 2024. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (3), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Split-toned with rosemary emulsion, washed with rainwater, 17 December 2024. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (4), 23 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned (naturally bleached) with catnip emulsion, and washed with rainwater, 10 January 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (5), 12 January 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Washed with rain water (“ice water”, from snow carpet in the garden). Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (6), 15 December 2024, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with rosemary emulsion, and washed with rainwater (“ice water”, from snow in the garden), 15 February 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (7), 19 January 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with safflower emulsion, and washed with rainwater (“ice water”, from snow in the garden), 17 February 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (8), 19 January 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with marjoram emulsion, and washed with rainwater, 23 February 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (9), 2 March 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with magnolia flower emulsion, and washed with rainwater, 27 March 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (10), 6 April 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with linden blossom emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 12 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (11), 6 April 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with madder emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 12 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (12), 6 April 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with linden blossom emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 8 April 2025. Second toning with madder emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 13 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (13), 5 April 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with fenugreek emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 14 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (14), 6 April 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with strawberry leaf emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 19 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (15), 19 January 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with Echinacea purpurea emulsion, and washed with rain water, 8 March 2025. Second toning with laurel, and washed with rain water (because of drought), 20 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.

Hilde Van Gelder, En attendant (16), 8 March 2025, cyanotype on BERGGER Cot 320 paper, 27 x 36 cm. Toned with laurel emulsion, and washed with tap water (because of drought), 20 April 2025. Part of En attendant , 2024−2025, a sequence of 16 identical blueprints, of which 14 have been toned with homemade plant emulsions.