Milena Michalski is a long-standing member of darkroom. She has just been awarded Arts Council England funding to push her photographic practice further, and is combining traditional darkroom and alternative photographic processes in her project ‘In a Sphere Suspended’.

Milena’s cyanotype series ‘Enmeshed’ has just been published in a new book ‘Less a Building: Interactions with the London Zoo Aviary’. The publication is part of a research project by artist Michaela Nettell, published by Passengers. This marks a point of transition for the landmark structure, which is being turned from an aviary into a monkey enclosure. Milena’s cyanotypes originate from 35mm photographs taken during the Covid-19 national isolation period. She developed the film in a homemade leaf developer. The cyanotypes are created on Fabriano Accademia paper using sunlight, and some are toned with leaf teas or tannins, further integrating nature into the material, as well as the subject, of the work.

Milena is currently working experimentally with plants and photographic film to create phytograms for exhibition and for publication in a new book.

Milena Michalski is artist in residence at King’s College London.

You can learn more about her work on Instagram or on her website:

For more information on the book see >>> Get 10% discount with the coupon code: LAB10