Posted on 22 September 2025:
Cyanotype Dreams Unfold: “Blue Print of a Dream” Illuminates Ka Gallery Varanasi
In the heart of Varanasi, Ka Gallery shimmered with indigo visions during “Blue Print of a Dream,” a two-day cyanotype art exhibition held on 18th and 19th September 2025.
Presented by Bohemian, this poetic showcase celebrated the magic of light and shadow through cyanotype—a vintage photographic process that turns sunlight into soulful imagery. Curated by Prof. Mukherjee . P, the exhibition explored the delicate line between reality and imagination, where skies seen through glass became metaphors for layered emotions.
“The nature of this kind of responses by students, especially turning jottings, stretched scribbles into cyanotypes are also a socio- political response about their sojourns. In unframed spaces of display, the lines become terse, in a formal bi- chrome setting of blue against a white wall, the lines become oblong and in open air spaces( as and when it is shown there) the lines take steep climbs and prominent falls.” — Prof. Mukherjee . P
NEHA GUPTA, RAMNAYAN, NIHARIKA AWHONA BARSAAT, LAKSHYA SHARMA, PRATIVA HEMBRAM, FARIAZ EMRAN, MAYANK, HIMANSHI TOMAR AND ISHITAA SEN BROUGHT DREAMS TO LIFE THROUGH THEIR CYANOTYPE CREATIONS.
In the gentle glow of Ka Gallery’s cyan-blue ambiance, nine emerging voices from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), stepped into the spotlight.
“Cyanotype is one of the earliest photographic printing processes, simple yet poetic in its making,” reflects Fariaz Emran, a student from BHU and guide of the project, who brought this timeless art to life at the exhibition. His words capture the soul of a technique that turns light into memory, and simplicity into beauty.
In the quiet blue tones of cyanotype, history whispers through chemistry and sunlight.
“Paper is first coated with a mixture of iron salts, then left to dry in darkness. When objects or negatives are placed on the prepared surface and exposed to sunlight, the chemistry reacts with the light, slowly revealing deep shades of blue,” he added.
“After rinsing in water, what remains is a permanent impression—shadows turned into images, ” shares a BHU student who joined the workshop.
As light touches the surface, deep blues begin to bloom—objects leave behind their silent shadows, now etched forever in Prussian blue. It’s where science meets art, and time itself becomes the artist.
Nine young artists from BHU painted their dreams in deep blue—each piece a quiet breath, a bold whisper shimmering with spirit and longing.
