mom prepping collard greens (2017)
mom prepping greens, anthotype with emulsified collard greens on watercolor paper. UV 6 exposure 4.5 hrs (2023)
When I stopped eating meat 10 years ago I remember thinking about how much I’d miss my Grandma’s collard greens. When I told her I didn’t eat meat anymore and she said “ Ok, well it’s some collard greens in the kitchen.” I repeated to her that I didn’t eat meat and she looked at me and said “It ain’t no meat in them greens—ain’t nothin but some fatback!” It was indignant. She’s from South Carolina— what’s collard greens with no fatback? I still love greens. My mama still makes them for me with no fatback. I took this photo of my her prepping her greens a couple years ago.
I decided to print the image using the anthotype process, using emulsified plant matter to to coat surface of my paper. In this case, it was collard greens & cold pressed water color paper, and then exposing it to the sun for several hours over the summer. The winter months are way more of a challenge to print anthotypes because you really need a UV 6 or better for a more defined image. But it’s not impossible. This image is my mama prepping greens, printed with collard green juice. Meta things. No fatback though. ;)
-k