The work explores the material relationships between photographic processes, marine life, and the environments they emerge from. The photographs of the Faroe Islands were taken on film in 2025 during a field trip with the With the River Collective. They were later printed in the darkroom using an experimental developer made from bladderwrack algae ethically collected from the shores of the Gulf of Finland in Helsinki and Porkkala. Bladderwrack contains natural phenolic compounds and tannins which, when processed into an extract and combined with washing soda and vitamin C, can act as a photographic developing agent. Compared with conventional chemical development, the plant-based process is less toxic but takes considerably longer and produces lower-contrast images with a warm tone derived from the algae. The installation also includes cyanotypes of seaweed species found in the Atlantic Ocean. By allowing algae to become both subject and photographic agent, the installation treats the sea not simply as an image or landscape, but as an active participant in making the work.

This work was produced during the With the River Collective art project supported by Kone Foundation, the Nordic Culture Fund and Tjaldur.

The With the River Collective consists of eight Nordic artists: Eija Mäkivuoti, Jessica Franzén, Jón Sonni Jensen, Mari Keski-Korsu, Matilda Löytty, Jouko Alapartanen, Dan Helgi í Gong and Alexandra Stroganova.