“In response to the 2019/2020 bushfires on the east coast of Australia, Raupach takes the satellite footage of the bushfire smoke and uses the cyanotype photographic process to reproduce each frame, before reanimating to produce the video work, Satellite Cyanotypes. The cyanotype solution transforms the paper into a UV sensitive negative, causing everywhere sunlight touches to turn blue while the masked paper remains white. In large bushfires, UV light is blocked by the smoke and appears as irregular patches on the BOM’s UV forecast maps. By using the cyanotype process Raupach mimics the real phenomena that Satellite Cyanotypes represents.”
- Saskia Scott, Heat Map catalogue essay, 2021.