A Living Archive: Boston Athenaeum exhibition of anthotypes and plantistypes™
My collaborator Lindsey Beal and I had our series of anthotypes and plantistypes™, A Living Archive, on display at the historic Boston Athenaeum in Boston, MA.
On view from June 10th, 2025 to September 5th, 2025, the exhibition A Living Archive was curated by the awesome Lauren Graves, Associate Curator at the Boston Athenaeum, and shows our collaborative work from the Athenaeum's permanent collections. This series explores the post-industrial New England ecologies and landscape.
Flax, 2024, anthotype (pokeberry emulsion) on artist-made paper
👆 That's one of anthotypes that was on view, both the original along with the limited edition digital print.
An anthotype is a special kind of old-school, sustainable photograph made out of plant juices and sunlight, and in our case, printed on our handmade papers. 🌿
A plantistype™ is new, plant-based photographic/papermaking technique invented by myself and Lindsey Beal in 2024. We made chlorophyll-rich paper from pulped plants, and exposed areas of the paper to sunlight for months to create a photographic image.
The exhibition is a bit badass—because both these types of alternative photographs fade with exposure to UV light. When displayed in spaces with sunlight like at the Athenaeum, this living work poetically fades.
The Athenaeum also acquired cyanotype prints on handmade paper from Lamina, another one of our collaborative papermaking/photography series. ☀️
Learn more about the exhibition.
The opening was June 9th, 2025.
There was an artist talk on July 29th, 2025 moderated by Karen Haas, Lane Curator of Photographs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
This exhibition was positively reviewed by Mark Feeney in the Boston Globe, and featured in Elin Springs’ best summer photo shows 2025.
View these works online in the Boston Athenaeum Digital Collections.
A Living Archive
June 10 - September 5, 2025
Boston Athenaeum
10 1/2 Beacon Street Boston, MA