Mordançage Process

Beh Stehle

John Boeckeler


Christina Z. Anderson

This process can be otherwise called the etch-bleach process, and it physically manipulates the silver gelatin print through acid bleaching, rubbing, and lifts. The images should appear far from reality. Be careful when working in this process because the chemicals are not good for your lungs. There is a more detailed description below, but essentially, the print is bleached in the mordancage solution, redeveloped, rinsed, put in the mondancage solution, reapply the emulsion area to the print, redevelop the print again, and screen dry it.

Materials for the Solution 

• One liter of the mordançage solution consists of 750 ml water (cool or cold), 25-35 mL copper chloride, 50mL volume hydrogen peroxide 50, glacial acetic acid water 

Detailed Steps for use:

• Bleach a well washed print in the mordançage solution for 3 minutes (wear gloves and work with good ventilation!), followed by a 15 minute wash.
• Redevelop the print in any of the following (but not limited to the following!):
  Dektol at 1:5 Weak or nearly exhausted Dektol Sulfide toner (Part B) – weak, used of full strength Polytoner, Brown toner, or thiourea redeveloper (Whatever else seems worth trying)
• Rinse the print under running water. You might allow the print to sit out in the air 5-10 minutes (or longer) to oxidize, perhaps adding to the coloration of the final print… or NOT! maybe you can’t wait to see this thing, so you plunge ahead to the next step immediately.
• Back into the mordançage solution – “timed” by inspection. At this point you might take a cotton ball and rub the emulsion off of the print – partially or completely – as the image and whim dictates.
  Further, you may also observe at this point that entire sections of emulsion – the darkest areas of the print – are floating in suspension, but still (barely) attached to the print. You may wish to rearrange and/or reapply this emulsion area to the print – in the manner of a Polaroid lift. Elizabeth Opalenik has turned this into her signature maneuver with this process.
• Redevelop or tone the print once again. Use stop bath to halt this action when judged complete. Wash the print for 30 minutes. (This wash may not be a real option if you have done emulsion manipulations, as it will be too fragile. Some sort of washing is obviously suggested – but then again, *not* thoroughly washing can lead to further color shifts over time, shifts which may, for the open-minded, be interesting – although not strictly archival as a technique!)
• Screen dry

(http://www.alternativephotography.com/the-mordanage-background-and-process/)

(http://www.alternativephotography.com/working-in-the-mordancage-process/)