Zebra Pattern – Emulsion Curtain Failure (2025)

Description

Zebra Pattern Emulsion Curtain Failure (2025)

Coated in 2025 on the Zebra Emulsion Coating Machine, this exceptional dry plate set captures a rare and unrepeatable moment: an emulsion curtain failure occurring just seconds before the plates passed through the coating head. The result is a striking, zebra-like striped pattern formed directly in silver gelatin, an authentic trace of the coating process itself.

Industrial emulsion coating machines are exceedingly rare today, historically belonging to large manufacturers who no longer coat photographic plates. The Zebra coating machine is among the very few still in existence and actively used for plate coating, making this work a direct material record of a nearly vanished industrial photographic practice.

The pattern is entirely unique and cannot be recreated, recording a singular moment in the coating process.

The auction lot consists of 12 original dry plates, each measuring 4×5 in (100×126 mm). The plates are preserved as material artefacts, produced in the Zebra workshop using the Zebra Emulsion Coating Machine.

The work is signed and professionally framed.

This set is offered exclusively for this charity auction and will not be repeated.

Charity Purpose The Zebra Club

All funds from this auction will form the foundation of the newly created Zebra Club.

The Zebra Club is an initiative dedicated to supporting emerging artists working with historical photographic processes, with a particular focus on dry plate, wet plate, and other early photographic techniques. The club aims to provide direct, meaningful support through grants, materials, mentorship, and visibility, helping ensure that these fragile, knowledge-based practices continue into the future.

More information about the Zebra Club and its mission can be found HERE

Charity auction 22–31 December