Orotones
"Most photographers have seen Orotones – first made in the early 20th century by, amongst others, Arthur Pillsbury and Edward Curtis. Curtis developed this technique because he wanted his photographs to have more depth and they certainly do, they glow. I was struck by the beauty, brightness and the depth created by the light bouncing off the gold. So a few years ago I decided to do a modern version of the Orotone. I had an image printed digitally on UV ‘Art glass’ and I applied gold-leaf to the back of it. I’ve since make over 200 pieces.” – Kate Breakey
Like most of Breakey’s work, the orotones are editioned, and yet there is room for variance and individuality in each piece. Since each work is custom framed, and the gold leaf is applied by hand (like the embroidery and hand-applied color in her other works) no two images in an edition will be entirely identical. This makes each piece feel special, and function as a unique object.
