Elena Vittoria Bevilacqua
Alchemical Psychegrams
Alchemical Psychegrams is a series of lumen prints and photograms, made with different light sources and homemade, eco-friendly alternative chemicals.
Inspired by Rorschach inkblots and Jungian psychology, the series features botanical elements, feathers, lichens, and other organic materials alongside electronic components sourced from e-waste. These elements embody opposing forces — rational and irrational, natural and artificial — while their bilateral symmetry evokes both cosmic harmony and the symmetry of the human brain as seen in neuroimaging. The title echoes that language of medical imaging: each psychegram is a visual record of the invisible, an alchemical scan of the psyche.
Crafted through a meditative darkroom and cameraless photographic process, these compositions reflect the mind’s journey towards balance — visual equilibrium as a mirror of inner equilibrium.
The series envisions a future state of harmony between humanity and nature: the human mind, at last at peace, in the Symbiocene era.
Photogram
Negative
Kentmere VC Select paper
17.8 x 12.7 cm
Lumen print
Negative
Kentmere VC Select paper
17.8 x 12.7 cm
Reverso print
Kentmere VC Select paper
17.8 x 12.7 cm
By developing the lumen print, it transitions into an intermediate state between negative and positive. I call this type of lumen print the Reverso print to distinguish it from the undeveloped ones.