Fine art photographer Magda Kuca opens her West London studio for a first-hand experience of Victorian portraiture.

Anyone from artists keen to introduce new techniques to their own practice, and enthusiasts curious to peek behind the scenes of a professional studio and darkroom, to individuals looking for a unique gift idea, are all equally welcome to pop in on the day to meet the artist and observe the process.

Handmade from start to finish, wet plate collodion photography requires the artist to work fast and with precision. Using a large format camera, a metal or glass plate coated in a collodion solution is exposed, then immediately developed while still wet. A strictly limited amount of tickets is available at material cost to participate and sit for a unique 5×7 inch portrait to take home on the day.

Tintype portraits were particularly popular in the late 19th century, especially in America where they became a novelty fairground attractions. Portable and more affordable than earlier photographic techniques, they made portraiture accessible to the masses and allowed women to enter the profession.

In her fine art practice, Magda Kuca uses portraiture to explore the relationship between memory, heritage and identity. She considers the materiality and alchemy of historical and experimental photography central to connecting the past with the present, the physical with the supernatural.

Examples of past projects and work in progress will be on display on the day.

Magda Kuca (b. 1993) is a Polish fine art photographer based in London. An expert in Victorian and experimental photography, her practice is concerned with the cyclical nature of human rituals in the context of identity, memory and folklore.

Her work has been exhibited worldwide and is held in both private and public collections. She has won prestigious awards and grants in the UK and Poland. Past collaborations include institutions and organisations, ranging from the British Museum and Kew Gardens to Macallan Whisky and the BBC.

Kuca holds an MA in Fashion Photography from the London College of Fashion, University of Arts London (2018) and a BA in Photography from University of Arts in Poznan, Poland (2015).