“My Islands”
Contemporary times force us to act in haste and aspiration to make good use of the time given to the full, concentrating on the final effect. The characteristic feature of present time is also the development in technology of recording and processing pictures. Katarzyna Jachimowicz shows us how to create abstract pictures, without going into detail of elaborateness of painting techniques, using only simple digital camera. The artist does not interfere in photographed motive, does not frame the photographs or the colours in computer graphics programmes. The photo enlargements that we can see in the gallery are then possibly true record of a specific moment – the moment of releasing the shutter when a watched picture appears on the screen of the camera. They are abstract pictures painted in 1:60 of a second.
The second part of the exhibition are photograms made of combination of mirrored images of the same photo. Some people might associate the images with psychological tests which is not so far from the truth. The onlooker is given material that is to initiate his or her imagination to work. The brain is looking for symmetry, association and hidden meanings. Strange faces from the pictures are watching us.
The author called her series “My Islands”, and the first thought that comes to our mind is desert islands, happy islands? Maybe it is a friendly place where you can shelter from the world?
We invite you to acquaint with the works by Katarzyna Jachimowicz. They are works that join realism of the objects that have been photographed and the abstraction of the received form. However, let’s not try to classify them as it is unnecessary. The important thing is that after visiting the hospitable “Internet Gallery” (“Galeria z m@łpą”) we should become conscious that what we have already seen are only fragments of the surrounding world, views available for everyone. Weather we are able to notice the beauty in seemingly ordinary and trivial situations or not depends only on our concentration, sensitivity and being open for what the environment offers us.
Maciej Kałwiński
translated by: Sylwia Staniecka
“My way to…”
Who does not remember games from their childhood? Looking at clouds in the sky to call observed familiar shapes? Looking at sometimes surprising shapes of casting shadows given by well-known objects. Close watching of the surfaces of stones that resemble models of planets or asteroids.
Time passed more slowly and the world hid magic and secret. We already know that over the hill and far away is just another hill… and one more… Clouds are simply made of condensed steam, shadow is the resultant of shape and light direction and stones forms are just the result of geological and erosion processes.
Katarzyna Jachimowicz proposes us coming back to discovering mysteries of surrounding world. Using combination of four mirror images of one photograph, she makes abstract pictures. Their symmetry is of such strength that the photographs from which they were born remain in hiding, although before our eyes. It is very difficult, looking at the whole image, separating in our minds the quarter from which the whole image was created. A simple combination brings a variety of forms. We can see emerging faces, masks, dragons or insects heads. We might not know anything about the history of art, the rules of composition or any relations to works of other artists. Intuition and receptiveness to the play of associations are enough. We can take the shown images as analogy to another game from our childhood – a toy kaleidoscope tube in which a handful of unattractive glass changes into fascinating colourful pattern.
After a while we find something else. It is an incentive to the quest of mutual relationships between elements of reality, focusing on those elements that some might recognize as usual and common. I have thought that this is just that state of mind to which a journey brings us, we look with greater concentration searching for similarities and differences to the world we know. Then, it might not be by accident that great majority of material to her works, the author finds during her journey.
Maciej Kałwiński
translated by: Sylwia Staniecka
“The traces of memory”
Here’s another opportunity to see works by Katarzyna Jachimowicz. The author has already accustomed us to her unique “double symmetrical” forms. This time, however, instead of an extravaganza of kaleidoscopic colour there is soft texture, chiaroscuro, relief and almost monochromic character.
The limitation of modes of artistic expression harmonizes with images leaving more space for the play of the imagination. The spectator may be surprised watching forms that are tense, rhythmical, fleeing into artificially created space, while emanating calmness that is difficult to explain. Is that calmness, stability, the sense of safety only the influence of symmetry and muted colours? It seems to be a very strong association with the Buddhist mandala – the symbol of cyclical transformation as well as a form of meditation.
Sand is also a symbol of the time march measured with an hourglass or the time that has been wasted as the sand pouring between your fingers.
The author draws attention to the following changes continuously, without interruption and every single second. But on the other hand … it might be that nothing has indeed been changing – as sand grains. Eternally the same and alike.
Microscopic stones.
Maciej Kałwiński
translated by: Sylwia Staniecka