Exploring Jo Thomson’s Unique Photographic Art

Experimental photographer Jo Thomson works with two processes, the Photogram, created in a traditional darkroom, and the Cyanotype, created by exposure to the sun.

Both processes use the ‘contact’ method, with objects placed directly onto the photographic materials before exposure. This means the objects are recorded at their true scale.

My art ultimately aims to elevate ordinary objects into things of beauty – Jo Thomson

I found Florigin, the name of Jo Thomson’s company based in Mono, Ontario, while strolling an art market in Southern Georgian Bay (where I live half time).

Thomson received a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the London College of Arts (UK), and for 20 years was active in the commercial creative industries, as both a freelance commercial & social photographer, and as a director of the Design & Branding Studio, Believe in.

“Florigin was born from a strong desire to return to my roots of traditional printing and to be creative without the constraints of a client brief,” Thomson says (more here and see the video at the end of the post)

Jo Thomson’s ‘cameraless photographs of botanicals’ as the works were described by the Museum of Dufferin’s exhibition (above).

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Jo Thomson’s Florigin website, here.