Ultraplanet – #DN020 | Unique Work

“Ultraplanets is an astronomical atlas based on a deliberate manipulation of NASA’s archive. Factual images, captured by probes and telescopes, are dissected and combined with unrelated visual fragments, and subsequently reassembled to create new imaginary worlds.

The process undergoes several stages. It begins by transforming digital images into physical negatives, similar to traditional film processing. These are then developed in a darkroom. However, instead of using standard chemicals, images are developed using special homemade recipes derived from plants.”
– Diego Brambilla

Each work in Ultraplanets begins as a digital file from NASA’s public archive — images produced by probes and telescopes as scientific documents, not as photographs in any conventional sense. Brambilla transforms these files into physical negatives, reintroducing them into an analogue process before combining them with unrelated visual fragments in the darkroom. The development stage is where the process becomes most particular: rather than standard photographic developers, Brambilla uses plant-based formulations of his own making — Wineol, derived from wine; Rooibos, from the South African shrub; Caffenol, from instant coffee, vitamin C, and washing soda. Each formula produces a distinct tonal character — the result of an experimental process rather than a predetermined selection, the developer chosen through testing rather than assigned to a subject.

The prints are analogue gelatin silver on matt baryta paper, developed in Caffenol, Rooibos, or Wineol depending on the work, mounted on 1 mm aluminium and framed in natural oak. Each print is 24 × 24 cm. Because each tirage carries the variations introduced by the developer, no two prints from the same chemistry are identical: works in the series exist either as unique pieces or as limited sets of unique variants, depending on the number of prints made.

For the full context of the series: diegobrambilla.com/ultraplanets.