Welcome to labluelab. (Lana Blue's athens-based cyanoprint laboratory), my lighted darkroom.

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This is where I create cyanoprints with sun and seawater.

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The phrase "Sine Sole Sileo" (without the sun I go silent) used to be engraved on sundials because their “hands” followed the movement of the sun and they went silent with its setting.

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Just as cyanoprinting (from the ancient Greek kyaneos/kyanous<kyanos, which means sky blue) “speaks” only in sunlight, so this technique of alternative photography, the development of an image (whether a photograph or photogram) takes place in the sun with the use of two light-sensitive chemicals and not in a dark room (like conventional photography). 

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I discovered the technique of cyanoprinting during the first lockdown (March 2020), while searching for a creative escape which felt very necessary at the time. Countries closed their borders one after the other and I began to work with my photo archive from earlier trips in an unusual way. And thus began my "out of the blues collection” during a very difficult period.

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Since then, I’ve been experimenting with cyanoprinting and seeking ways to modernize it.

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I recently began the creation of a series of works focusing on words – mainly from Ancient Greek, which is the basis for so many synonymous words in modern European languages) – from dialects that are no longer spoken, and words from languages that I would like to save, either because I think they have a particular symbolism or because of their timeless meaning. And so began the lablueark series.

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In labluelab. each work, and the packaging, is handmade.

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Every cyanoprint is a unique prototype, a work that will not (or cannot?) be repeated

               The few objects that are printed outside the workshop at a print shop, on material such as plexiglas, for example, circulate in a limited edition, in order to prevent stock piling up that will end up in the trash bin.

              -I obtain my supplies from small local businesses, thus supporting the Greek market.

              - I choose materials that are environmentally friendly.

              - To the extent possible I follow a “zero waste” policy, which means that I recycle the paper that I use for experiments or which have some imperfections, turning it into creative packaging or using it for branding purposes (professional cards, cards that are distributed without charge or offered along with the works, envelopes, etc.).