UNLATENT IMAGE — MAGDALENA PACEK

IP Studio, ul. Ruska 46a/401.3
8.09–8.10.2023

curator: Ewa Budnik

In the work UNLATENT IMAGE Magdalena Pacek indulges in a light-hearted carefree attitude, activating the possibility of experiencing the childlike pleasure of building something out of nothing - her 'base', her shelter. As she builds this place, she fills it with images of nature written on glass plates that have lain for many years in the garden of the artist's family home. One element of the work is a video in which Pacek builds a light-and-glass structure in the darkness, inviting us to watch the process.

The artist creates a story about looking, but also about losing sight of the image. Using a photographic method, she declassifies the seemingly latent images produced by nature. She thus causes a metaphorical act of image declassification. The dark garden is compared to a darkroom. The glass panes are treated like glass plates on which light from an enlarger falls. Then, using photographic chemistry, an image is revealed on the panes.

Pacek creates an image dialogue between video-performance and objects that are representatives of the broad medium of photography. In her own words: this work is a bit about longing: for home; for the source; for the image's own origin and provenance; for carefree sourcing; for the creative accident; for an image as natural as nature itself. It is also a longing for the sheer pleasure of looking; for a glimpse into the complexity of image structure (from the techniques and gestures of traditional photography, to the possibilities and specificities of digital photography). It is also a reflection on the photographic image - its complexity, otherness and ontology. – Magdalena Pacek.

BIO

born in 1994 in Wrocław. She comes from Sobótka. Graduate of Bachelor's and Master's degree studies at the University of Arts in Poznań.

She perceives photography as a multidimensional medium, creating photographic objects, videos and installations.

She often refers to nature and reflects on the condition of contemporary man in its context. In addition, she reflects on the medium of photography itself, exploring its meaningfulness and delving into the notion of the image. Her activities can be described as meta-artistic, as they focus on working on meta-images.

She has participated in many group exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including Berlin, Vienna, Bratislava, Ljubljana. She had her solo exhibition Unlatent Image (2020) at the Pavilion in Poznań and the exhibition Najcieplej jest we mgle (2023) at the Ślężański Cultural Centre in Sobótka. She has her publication in a photobook with a collection of works by international artists The annihilation of space and time (2023) published in Tokyo.