Heliography Project 1827–2027
An ongoing investigation into photography, permanence and loss.
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1827–2027, The Last Photographs
200 Years of Photography
In the Bicentennial year of Photography, I use heliography — the first photographic process — to preserve Google Street View frames that were recorded by a machine and later overwritten.
Google Street View is probably the last major attempt to capture the visible world automatically and photographically – mechanical, continuous, and without photographic intent.
I roam through Google Street View searching for moments that were never meant to be seen. When I find one, I translate it into the first photographic process: heliography according to Nicéphore Niépce, 1827.
Bitumen on tin. Sunlight. Once. No repetition.
The material is asphalt – the same substance the street itself is made of, the street on which the image was taken. The street returns into the image.
Each work is unique: a box, a plate, a moment. 1827–2027.
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Photographer
Venedig, Calle dei Tredici Martiri, April 2013
Venice, Calle dei Tredici Martiri, April 2013. Google’s cameras captured this frame. In September 2023 I found it, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated aluminium plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography Photographer.
Frame still accessible. Verified June 2026.
Edition Photographer: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View.
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The Woman with an Umbrella.
Singapur, January 2009
Singapore, January 2009. The image was captured by Google’s cameras. In September 2023 I discovered the scene, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated aluminium plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography The Woman with an Umbrella.
This Google Street View frame is no longer accessible. No adjacent frame of the sequence is still accessible. This is the last image. Verified June 2026.
Edition The Woman with an Umbrella: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View.
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Seagull
Paris, Port de Suffren, November 2022.
Paris, Port de Suffren, November 2022. The image was captured by Google’s cameras. In June 2026 I discovered the scene, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated zinc plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography Seagull.
This Google Street View frame is no longer accessible. An adjacent frame of the same sequence is still accessible. Verified June 2026.
Edition Seagull: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View.
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Centre Pompidou, Midday
Paris, 15 Rue Beaubourg, August 2013
Paris, 15 Rue Beaubourg, August 2013. The image was captured by Google’s cameras. In August 2024 I discovered the scene, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated aluminium plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography Centre Pompidou, Midday.
The frame is still accessible. Verified June 2026.
Centre Pompidou, Midday: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View. In private collection, France.
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Table with a Chair
Paris, 121 Rue Saint-Dominique, May 2018
Paris, 121 Rue Saint-Dominique, May 2018. The image was captured by Google’s cameras. In September 2024 I discovered the scene, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated aluminium plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography Table with a Chair.
Frame still accessible. Verified June 2026.
Edition Table with a Chair: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View.
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The Man with a Plane Tree Leaf
Paris, 1 Quai de la Corse, August 2012.
Paris, 1 Quai de la Corse, August 2012. The image was captured by Google’s cameras. In September 2025 I discovered the scene, made an internegative, and exposed a 10 × 15 cm asphalt-coated aluminium plate. Six hours of sunlight. Contact process. Single exposure. I called the heliography The Man with a Plane Tree Leaf.
Frame still accessible. Verified June 2026.
Edition The Man with a Plane Tree Leaf: A5 box, heliograph, internegative, screenshot, image card with QR code linking to Google Street View.
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Photographer and Her Subject
Dune du Pilat, August 2015
Dune du Pilat, August 2015. The image was captured by Google’s cameras.
In July 2026 I discovered the scene, produced two internegatives, and coated 24 aluminium plates, each 12 × 12 cm, with asphalt. On one sunny day I exposed only two plates at a time, simultaneously, for six hours each, using the contact process. Single exposure.
The remaining 22 plates stayed unexposed.
This is the only exposure of this motif. I titled the work Photographer and Her Subject.
The frame is still accessible. Verified June 2026.
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