The Complete Guide to Mordançage: From Black and White to Color

Mordançage is an obscure and striking darkroom technique developed in the 1970s by French photographer Jean-Pierre Sudre, evolving from the 19th-century bleach etching process. In this two-session online seminar, Canadian visual artist and filmmaker Ella Morton guides participants through the core principles of mordançage. She explores its transformative effects on both black-and-white and color prints and film, while also examining its role in the ongoing “analog resurgence” within contemporary fine art photography.

During the first session, Ella demonstrates the most common application of mordançage on black-and-white silver gelatin prints. She covers the chemistry, bleaching, and developing steps, and shows techniques for manipulating the emulsion to create veils and textures. During the second session, the focus shifts to applying mordançage to color negative film, where Ella demonstrates unique development techniques and expanded methods specific to working with color. 

Both sessions feature prerecorded demonstrations, recorded by Ella at Gallery 44, a community darkroom in Toronto. These recordings allow for a detailed view of the process, with Ella also showing prints and negatives live during the Zoom sessions. Questions are welcome throughout, and by the end of the seminar, everyone has a refined understanding of the mordançage process, along with the skills to experiment with it in their own projects.

Ella’s experimental approach to analog processes has earned her international recognition, with exhibitions across Europe and North America. Her deep knowledge of analog techniques, combined with her artistic vision, makes her the perfect guide to help you explore the nuances of mordançage and discover new creative possibilities in your own work.