Mikołaj SMOCZYŃSKI (1955-2009)

A Step

2005
two gelatin silver prints, 24.2 x 16.3 cm (28.4 x 20.5 cm) - each,
signed, dated, titled, sequence number in the diptych and edition on the reverse
edition: 1/1

This diptych is an example of Smoczyński’s skill in building a mysterious narrative. As Alicja Kępińska (Clues in Silence, CCA Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, 1995) observes: "His photographs neither depict reality, nor resemble any iconic image. They fit neither of the two formulas. In this sense, they are an important contribution to the long-lasting debate about the nature of photography, the actual reasons why photography was introduced into the realm of art, and about the nature of our perception." Kępińska goes on to say that the artist "provokes by re-asking the seemingly simple questions about ‘the difference’: what does it mean that something differs from something else, and what makes the difference possible?"