Photo Synthesis

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photo– (prefix) : produced by light
synthesis (noun) : production of a substance from simpler materials after a chemical reaction

“Photo Synthesis” is a photographic reflection on the transformation of light into matter. Green plants harness sunlight to feed themselves through the process of photosynthesis, and the energy that they create and store, supports all life on earth.

The Lot River meanders slowly through remote woodland in southwest France. I used an analogue, wooden, plate camera to make my work there: silver halide molecules in photographic film become metallic silver during their moment of exposure, echoing the forest’s own photosensitive surface as each leaf records its exposure to sunlight. In autumn, glimpses of yellows and ochres, manifestations of the light absorbed during the growing season, mark a turning of trees’ energies towards the earth. As leaves begin to fall, the trunks and branches that are created from the trees’ alchemy, are revealed.

During the day, chlorophyll in the leaves absorbs photons, particles of light energy. These in turn power a series of chemical reactions that, from the raw materials of water and carbon dioxide, make glucose molecules. At night, when photosynthesis is not possible, plants use this glucose to grow. The nutrients formed, in both life and decay, will be consumed by insects, animals and plants, transporting this energy along the entire food chain. Intrigued by the moment of pause between sunlight capture and nighttime growth, I worked at twilight. Under high banks, the trees’ reflections are woven through the deep, dark river in an entanglement of air, water, light and vegetation, that is the source of life.

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Printed on large, brushed aluminum panels with UV ink, the photographs change in appearance as we shift our viewing position. This enables an interaction between the spectator, the ambient light and the scene, bringing it to life before our eyes. Presenting these organic subjects on metal – a material that is paradoxically immobile and apparently inanimate – draws focus to the importance of light, as well as the vitality present in all the matter that surrounds us.

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Rebecca Marshall is a British fine art photographer based in the South of France. Her practice explores the landscape and how we relate to it, and her work has been exhibited at Fotofestival Nuremberg (solo exhibition, 2021), BJP OpenWalls Arles (finalist, 2019) and Postcards from Europe, Cambridge University (2022). Her portraits and reportage are regularly commissioned by clients including the New York Times, Sunday Times magazine and Die Zeit, and she is represented by agency Laif.

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