ROJECT
02/
RUSSIAN BLUE
Prussian Blue is a continuing photographic experiment that Maria began in 2022 during her second year of studies. At first, she used cyanotype to translate her poems into visual forms, starting with negatives from childhood photos, places she grew up, and objects from her past. A recurring element emerged-a detail of her hair, serving as a memory holder and symbol of inherited family trauma, long silences, and the weight of women’s suppression in her bloodline. Her own long hair becomes both medium and metaphor: a tangible trace of memory, connection, and continuity, carrying both personal and ancestral histories.
Through poetry and image, Maria addresses a past she cannot fully confront aloud, speaking to those who are no longer alive or to people she is too afraid to face. These poetic conversations are directed into the void, translated into cyanotype prints that reveal themselves only under UV light, a metaphor for the process of trauma healing. The way wounds surface when confronted, cyanotypes make visible what was previously invisible, embracing imperfections and the fragmented nature of memory.
In 2024, during her Minor in Critical Studies, Maria added another layer to the project, printing archival family photos alongside her poems, deepening the dialogue between memory, absence, and identity. A shirt appears as both physical canvas and symbolic gesture: a reclamation of agency from past forces that once held control, a reminder of innocence before life’s marks, and an act of defiance against shame and silence.
Looking forward, Maria intends to expand the number of prints and further explore the interplay of cyanotype and real hair, using it as a material and symbol of memory, resilience, and the desire to break free from cycles of trauma. Prussian Blue transforms personal and familial histories into a visual language that holds both intimacy and universality, inviting viewers to witness the ongoing struggle to confront, reclaim, and reimagine one’s past.