ASHIA MUSE / S STUDIO

Who is S STUDIO, and how would you describe the practice behind it?

S STUDIO is a contemporary art studio working between analog photography, handwork and the physical object.

At the core of the practice is an ongoing exploration of material, light and time, using early photographic processes such as cyanotype alongside 35mm film and manual techniques. Sunlight, water and touch actively participate in shaping each image, giving it a distinct physical presence.

The studio also produces a numbered, limited art Edition each month, sent directly to collectors — turning the act of collecting art into something tangible, intimate and cyclical.

 

 

What was the moment that set the studio in motion?

The studio grew out of the belief that the people around me had in my art.

I would visit friends’ homes and see small works I had given them — test prints from larger pieces — hanging on their walls. I was moved by the fact that they had given my art a place in their lives.

It made me want to give these pieces a space in the world too. Not only through the traditional museum path, but by making art accessible to people who are moved by small gestures, just as I am.

Your work moves between photography, handwork and object. How do you decide what an image needs to become?

This question is part of my identity, and also part of my lack of one.

I admire artists whose technique becomes an immediately recognizable fingerprint. My process is a little less controlled.

All my photographs are shot on 35mm film. When the scans arrive, I print them and sit with them physically in the studio — it has become a small ritual. That is usually when I begin to understand what each image wants to become.

Sometimes it takes many attempts. Sometimes it happens on the first try. And sometimes the image is strong enough to need nothing at all.

What does anonymity allow you to reveal?

Working under the studio’s name began with a desire for anonymity — to create a direct relationship between the viewer and the work, rather than with my personal persona.

It allowed me to reveal a side of myself that perhaps would not have emerged if the work had been directly attached to who I am.

Over time, S STUDIO developed an identity of its own. My fingerprint is there, of course, but I see our identities as distinct. The studio is brave, consistent, diverse and full of vivid colour — an identity that has evolved from one Edition to the next.

What drew you to cyanotype, and what keeps you returning to a process shaped by sunlight?

I discovered cyanotype by chance after completing my art degree and was immediately mesmerized by it.

No two prints are ever identical. Each is shaped by the intensity of the sunlight, the mixture of chemicals and the length of exposure. These variables make every print truly one of a kind.

There is something magical about working manually with the sun. The process requires a very particular window of time: I have to be prepared, focused, quick and precise, while at the same time remaining patient enough to let the sun do its work and leave its imprint on the paper.

 

What did you see in FOSSILE before it became an image?

FOSSILE begins as an object close to the body — a crystal pendant carrying the form of a spiral, deep time and sediment.

When placed directly onto the paper and exposed to sunlight, the crystal interacts with the light, transmitting and trapping it. Its transparency leaves behind a delicate trace of shadow and refraction, transforming the piece of jewellery into a singular blue-hued print.

Just as a fossil preserves an organic imprint in stone, and a seashell holds layers of growth and memory within it, the cyanotype is not simply a representation of the pendant.

It is the physical memory of a direct encounter between stone, light and the sun.