Forms of Knowledge

This failed print saved me a trip to the hospital…

A few nights ago I roasted some taro and sweet potato chips. Within minutes the inside of my mouth and throat began to sting. Drinking water made it more painful and it hurt to move my tongue or swallow.

Just before I called for the hospital, I did a quick Google search and understood that I wasn’t having an anaphylactic reaction like I feared. Taro was the culprit. Calcium oxalate forms ‘spikes’ that irritate upon contact if the roots aren’t cooked long enough.

I remembered a batch of failed Ziatype prints a couple years ago. I hadn’t been able to understand why one of my favorite processes was suddenly coming out muddled and grainy (Image #1 vs. #2). A friend suggested that my paper probably had a calcium buffer and that an acidic bath would neutralize the base and solve the problem. (It worked beautifully.)

So when I realized this was a chemical reaction, my mind flipped through photographic processes to work out how I might be able to break down the spikes. Relief came quickly after swishing around diluted lemon juice and rubbing lime inside my mouth.

It was quite a peculiar reminder that even long-forgotten mistakes can serve a purpose!