honorable mention
Agata Mendziuk poland
title
Closer
The theme of the "Closer" series is a threatened sense of security in the personal and social dimensions.
A starting point for the series is my strong belief that threat emerging in seemingly distant places eventually affects all the world's societies in a chain reaction. In this sense hardships experienced now in external environments are close to us, getting closer every minute.
This is why the project is composed of portraits of diverse people in domestic or urban spaces - familiar and safe, in which, however, a disturbing dissonance is present. The glow of the fire visible in the background of an idyllic scene or the shattered glass of the window that creates composition for the whole image emphasizes the tension between reliable repetition of everyday life and the shock created by imminent danger.
The final images increase the tension by asking a crucial question: When the danger strikes will you be its adversary or observer?
AUTHOR'S COMMENT:
The direct inspiration for the series were individual stories forming a collective narrative about global and personal threat, that I've started gathering during the pandemic. They gave rise to the conclusion that, as humans, we are a set of interconnected vessels. My goal was to create a project that explores the sense of emergency and shows how it spreads from the individual to the global scale. In the context of current events in Eastern Europe this topic seems more relevant than ever, so I plan to continue it in this or the future projects.
She combines artistic activity with giving lectures in her field. As a visiting lecturer, she discussed photography, among others, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland and the Roundabout Art Gallery in Katowice, Poland.
At present in her photographic practice, Agata is interested first in the subject, the concept, and then in the precisely chosen form. The areas she explores include the individual and social experience of border situations, identity in the context of the tension between autonomy and culturally imposed patterns, and the relationship between the observer and the observed. Her visual strategy is simple yet demanding: the technique has to correspond exactly with the subject, so it is different every time. The form is meant to be to the point and technically perfect, but it is never a goal itself.
back to gallery
entry description
PROJECT STATEMENT:The theme of the "Closer" series is a threatened sense of security in the personal and social dimensions.
A starting point for the series is my strong belief that threat emerging in seemingly distant places eventually affects all the world's societies in a chain reaction. In this sense hardships experienced now in external environments are close to us, getting closer every minute.
This is why the project is composed of portraits of diverse people in domestic or urban spaces - familiar and safe, in which, however, a disturbing dissonance is present. The glow of the fire visible in the background of an idyllic scene or the shattered glass of the window that creates composition for the whole image emphasizes the tension between reliable repetition of everyday life and the shock created by imminent danger.
The final images increase the tension by asking a crucial question: When the danger strikes will you be its adversary or observer?
AUTHOR'S COMMENT:
The direct inspiration for the series were individual stories forming a collective narrative about global and personal threat, that I've started gathering during the pandemic. They gave rise to the conclusion that, as humans, we are a set of interconnected vessels. My goal was to create a project that explores the sense of emergency and shows how it spreads from the individual to the global scale. In the context of current events in Eastern Europe this topic seems more relevant than ever, so I plan to continue it in this or the future projects.
about the photographer
Agata Mendziuk deals with narrative and concept based photography. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice with a diploma in the photography department.She combines artistic activity with giving lectures in her field. As a visiting lecturer, she discussed photography, among others, at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland and the Roundabout Art Gallery in Katowice, Poland.
At present in her photographic practice, Agata is interested first in the subject, the concept, and then in the precisely chosen form. The areas she explores include the individual and social experience of border situations, identity in the context of the tension between autonomy and culturally imposed patterns, and the relationship between the observer and the observed. Her visual strategy is simple yet demanding: the technique has to correspond exactly with the subject, so it is different every time. The form is meant to be to the point and technically perfect, but it is never a goal itself.
back to gallery