Agnieszka Sejud
As mentioned yesterday, we rarely show contemporary art, but even more rarely do we show contemporary photography! Today, we present Photogram 1 (6) 22.06.24, from the Choreography for Absence series by the amazing Agnieszka Sejud (check out her website and Instagram). Here is how she describes this photograph:
"In the darkness, I unroll and cut light-sensitive paper from a roll. I hang it on the wall or spread it on the floor. I place my body on the surface and expose it for seconds or fractions of a second. I use the light of the enlarger and small lamps with which I intuitively paint the space. When I feel it is complete, I put the paper into the machine and wait for the image to emerge in the chemical bath.
I capture that moment of my being. I perform a secret ritual, a dance with death and desire. I imprint myself on paper that will outlast my body. A little love, a little dying.
In terms of historical references, I can point to Yves Klein, who created a spectacle: women as living brushes, an audience, Klein himself in a suit, with a cigarette in hand—pure, untouched physically. I reverse that arrangement, though I also do not use paint. I paint with light directly onto paper. I work in solitude and darkness. I do not direct—I am the tool, the body, the light, and the image. I work with what is still available, though disappearing—light-sensitive emulsions and papers."
P.S. Many famous 20th-century artists experimented with photography. Here are 10 surprising rayographs by Man Ray!