CHAN HOI TAT
Poly University of Hong Kong
Re-imagining Cyanotype: From Representational Image to Material Surface
This presentation examines The Cyan World, an art project that reconsiders cyanotype through its material, chemical, and processual capacities. Presented during photography’s bicentennial, it offers a material counterpoint to the rise of generative AI imagery. While generative systems can synthesize photographic-looking images without a direct encounter between camera, light, and subject, missing the index of the work. Rather than treating cyanotype as a means of representing external forms, the project shifts attention from photographic image content to the medium itself. Working directly with glass plates coated in a custom gelatin bound ferric formula, the project explores how light, temperature, moisture, and chemical reaction can produce images through material transformation to generate what the artist calls “expected accidents.
Keywords: Cyanotype, Alternative Photographic Process, Expected Accident
BIO
"Chan Hoi Tat, Bentat, is a Hong Kong based artist and photographer. He graduated with summa cum laude honours from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Media. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, under the Joint PhD Supervision Scheme with the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Bentat’s practice explores artistic and creative photography. His work has received recognition in international photography competitions, including the National Geographic International Photography Contest, the International Photography Awards (IPA), the CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year Competition, and the World Master Photography Awards. His photographs have also been exhibited internationally."
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