The Very Fine Art Gallery
Naturalia II - Everything Ends Up Beautiful #007
Naturalia II - Everything Ends Up Beautiful #007
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A delicate study in pale pink, green and dark organic forms, Naturalia II #007 has a light, weathered quality, with layers of colour, fragments and fine marks spreading across the surface. A darker horizontal form cuts through the upper part of the image, creating a strong contrast with the softer tones beneath.
The surface shifts between something botanical, geological and photographic. Small traces of the original negative remain visible within the layers, giving the image the quality of something that has weathered and changed over time.
Created from a damaged photographic negative, #007 emerged through experimentation with the original material rather than an attempt to restore what had been lost.
Each print is produced to order as an archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag cotton-rag paper. The substantial fine-art paper gives the work a tactile surface and is chosen for the quality and permanence expected of a fine-art print.
Framing is available at checkout. Framed prints are presented in a contemporary black frame with a generous white mount and glazing, ready to hang.
Naturalia II details
• 6 × 12" / 15 × 30 cm image
• Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm cotton-rag paper
• Archival pigment print
• Digitally signed by the artist on the signed version
• Signed version designed for horizontal display
• Unmarked version can be displayed vertically
• Choice of unframed or framed
• Framed in a contemporary black frame with white mount
• Printed to order
Made to order - This artwork is produced specifically for you. Please allow up to 5 working days for production before dispatch, followed by the normal 3 working days for UK delivery.
The Story Behind This Collection
When I unpacked the old negatives from storage, they had been transformed by years of humidity, condensation and chemistry. I photographed them on my iPhone as I documented the process, and while looking at those photographs I noticed something strange. The colours visible on the physical negatives were different from the colours I had seen in my original scans. They were more vivid, more unexpected.
That made me look at the negatives again.
I began scanning them in a different way, first as negative film and then as reversal film. By combining the two versions in Photoshop and adjusting the balance between them, I could reveal colours and relationships that weren't apparent in either scan on its own.
The process became less about recovering what had been lost and more about discovering what else was there.
Naturalia I was about reclamation — nature transforming photographs that had been left in storage. Naturalia II takes those same damaged negatives and looks at them again, finding another set of possibilities within the material.
The resulting images are lighter, more open and often surprisingly painterly. They are not photographs of something I went looking for. They are images that emerged from something that had already happened.
Everything ends up beautiful.
About the Artist
Michael has exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, the Head On Portrait Prize, the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize at the NSW State Library, and at the BBA Gallery Berlin. He was voted Australia's Top Emerging Art Photographer by Capture Magazine in 2018, and has been recognised with awards from the IPA, PX3, and D&AD, among others.
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GPSR Compliance
GPSR Compliance
In compliance with the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), The Very Fine Art Gallery ensures all products meet applicable EU safety standards.
Open edition prints are fulfilled by Printful and include EU economic operator details: SINDEN VENTURES LIMITED, Limassol, Cyprus gpsr@sindenventures.com
All other prints are produced in partnership with Prodigi. Manufacturer: The Very Fine Art Gallery, United Kingdom. For EU product safety enquiries, contact info@theveryfineartgallery.com
All products include a 2-year EU warranty and are intended for adult use.
