Posterization Workshop

In 1931, in Poland, Witold Romer developed a photographic posterisation technique and named it “Isohelia”. The effect he achieved resembled contoured weather maps with isohels. This technique came to Latvia under the same name, Izohēlija, and became popular among photographers in the 1970s and 1980s. It was used by photographers such as Zigurds Bilzonis and Ilmārs Apkalns, but the most outstanding achievements in this technique were made by Jānis Gleizds (1924–2010).

During the workshop, curator and researcher Vladimirs Svetlovs and photographic analogue technology expert Armands Andže explored the creative legacy of Jānis Gleizds together with the participants. They produced photographs using the Isohelia technique from Gleizds’ preserved negatives and the participants’ own images, partially emulating the process digitally.

During the workshop participants learned the historical practice of posterization in black-and-white photography.