COLOTTYPE RINKO KAWAUCHI

In 1997, Kawauchi won the Grand Prize in the photography category of the 9th Hitotsubo Exhibition (now 1_WALL), and the following year he held a solo exhibition, Utatane, at the Guardian Garden in Tokyo. The 1998 solo exhibition of the same name featured a series of photographs that became the precursor to his first book, Utatane (2001). Many of the photographs exhibited and taken during that period were never included in the book and have not been made public since. In this mini-portfolio, Kawauchi has selected six of these works from his 1998 solo exhibition to make them as collotypes. A port of departure for Kawauchi's career, the works offer a glimpse into the foundations of his unique visual language.

The collotype was a photomechanical printing procedure (in graphic arts workshops). Conceived in 1856 by Louis Alphonse Poitevin , it was later perfected by Joseph Albert , for which reason it also spread under the name of Albertipo .

On a matrix made up of a glass plate, a layer of photosensitive emulsion made up of bichromate gelatin was spread, which was subjected to firing, and then impressed by contact with the original photographic negative. The gelatin became more insoluble in the transparent areas thereof. In this way the ink was more easily absorbed in those transparent areas.

This procedure allowed a limited number of 500 copies to be thrown ; because the gelatin deteriorated during the printing process, and sharpness was lost.

Among the photographers who used this system for print runs, Alfred Stieglitz can be mentioned.

Size: 8" x 10"