Figure 1 – Solar print of wild fennel from Henry Fox Talbot’s “The Pencil of Nature.” In the public domain because of its age.

In six installments from 1844 to 1846 Henry Fox Talbot published his ground-breaking “The Pencil of Nature.” The concept was drawing with light. One of the ways that Talbot drew with light (see Figure 1) was to place a leaf or other object between a glass plate and a sheet of photosensitive paper and create a “sun print.” The photosensitivity of some materials, their tendency to bleach (lighten) or to darken when exposed to light was well known at the time.  The big issue was “fixing” the image.

Perhaps the earliest recognition of photosensitivity was the suntan that our ancient ancestors quickly developed in a Mesopotamian sun. If you didn’t walk around fully naked, the selective nature of tanning (loincloth lines) became quickly obvious.  Our own melanocytes contain melanin the original photosensitive material.

So OK. But now comes the stupid and dangerous part. People are now using their own skin as photographic paper, creating art on the surface of their bodies.  This can be accomplished by “drawing” with sunblock lotion other opaque substances and then going out and burning yourself to a crisp. I do not have to tell you how the various dermatological societies feel about this. But it is, like tattooing, an art form, albeit a much more dangerous one.