Littoral Drift Continuum #10

About the Photographer

Riepenhoff, Meghann

American, b. 1979 Atlanta, GA

The four camera-less cyanotypes in Meghann Riepenhoff’s Littoral Drift Continuum #10 were exposed along the California shoreline as waves and sediment washed over sheets of sensitized paper. Unlike most analogue photographic processes, cyanotypes require no chemistry other than water. Using the ocean, Riepenhoff is able to combine the exposure and development of her prints into a single act. She later scanned and then printed this piece on an inkjet printer, which prevents the unstable cyanotype process from shifting in color or intensity over time.

This work is part of a larger series titled Littoral Drift that is named after a geologic term describing the action of wind-driven waves transporting sand and gravel. The project physically inscribes cyanotypes using the same elemental forces that shape the continent’s edge. With each artwork, the artist explores ways photographic materials translate, in her words, “the landscape, the sublime, time, and impermanence.”

Riepenhoff is based in Bainbridge Island, WA and San Francisco, CA. She received a BFA in Photography from the University of Georgia (2003) and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute (2006), where she is a visiting faculty member. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at institutions including Memphis College of Art, (2016); Worcester Art Museum, MA (2016); Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO (2015); Gallerie du Monde, Hone Kong (2015); Higher Pictures, New York, NY (2015); San Francisco Camerawork, CA (2015); and Photo Center Northwest, Seattle, WA (2014).