Cauchi is a master of the wet plate photography technique - perfected in the 1850s. The photographer starts with a sheet of glass or blackened metal, adds collodion (nitrated cotton dissolved in ether and ethanol with various salts added); then sensitizes the plate in a bath of silver nitrate before exposing and developing the plate - all within the 10-15 minutes before the plate dries. The process necessitates having subject and darkroom in the same place - even if that means using a portable darkroom.
Christchurch Art Gallery Press release, 2008
