Solarstalgia Dent Blanche
The work was created using the cyanotype technique – one of the earliest photographic processes, which relies on the light sensitivity of iron salts. A surface coated with this solution is exposed directly to sunlight, which, in a sense, becomes a co-creator of the piece. The characteristic Prussian blue produced by this process evokes the color of glaciers, a recurring motif in Diana Lelonek’s practice.
The starting point for the work was a journey to the Alps. For two months, light entering through a small aperture in a camera obscura left by the artist in the mountains recorded the sun’s path against a monumental landscape. The result is a solargraph, in which the sun has burned its trace, drawing a luminous arc above the glacier.
Diana Lelonek, Solarstalgia Dent Blanche, 2024,
cyanotype on cotton fabric, 130 x 165 cm,
phot. courtesy of lokal_30 gallery
Diana Lelonek, Văcărești Nature Park III-XIV, 2024-2025,
cyanotype on cotton fabric, 30 x 40 cm,
phot. courtesy of lokal_30 gallery
Văcărești Nature Park III-XIV
The work depicts Văcărești Park in Bucharest, a site with a unique history, located on the grounds of one of the largest unfinished urban development projects from the era of Nicolae Ceaușescu. The planned retention reservoir was never completed, and the area, abandoned by humans, was gradually reclaimed by nature, which transformed it into a distinctive urban ecosystem.
The work was created using the cyanotype technique, incorporating a natural pigment hand-prepared by Diana Lelonek. In her experiments with materiality, the artist often gathers plants, extracts their juices, and employs their light-sensitive properties as part of the creative process.