September 6, 2024 / 6 pmMala Gallery of Photography KONTRAST / Obornicki Ośrodek Kultury / Dworcowa 26 Street, 55-120 Oborniki Śląskie
Illusions of a pandemic- The title of the exhibition refers to the difficult times of the corona-virus pandemic, when, as everyone remembers, the possibility of free movement and human contact was restricted. However, for me it was a period when I could devote more time to my "joyful" creativity. In creating most of my photographs, I had to perform the tasks of photographer, model, graphic designer. At that time, photography became a springboard from this reality, it was my defense mechanism against boredom and marasm.
Radek Kowalik
Radek Kowalik
I was born in 1980 in Wroclaw, Poland. I started my adventure with photography in elementary school, when I learned the secrets of my father's photographic darkroom (and it's not at all about the cigarettes hidden in a drawer from my mother). It began in earnest a few years later, when I got a Zenit 12xp camera for my birthday, and with it I discovered more mysteries of light and shadow, shutter, aperture, time, silver and vinegar.
I am a graduate of the PHO-BOS Private Post-Secondary School of Photography, I was a student at the AFA Higher School of Photography, and in my academic days I was a member of SpAF. I cooperated with the Center for Culture and Art and the monthly magazine What Is Grane. Later I became involved with the NEGATIVE Art Group and the Penziger Horror Movies group, with which I pursued my film interests.
For several years I have been a member of the Contrast Photography Club, where I met many interesting people for whom photography is also an important part of life.
Taking pictures , I treat as a break from professional life, but in recent years it has become an integral part of it. When thoughts swirl in my head, after a while images appear that make me reflect, ponder, ... make me smile, ... fear and other emotions. Once analog, currently with the help of digital technology I combine images into new stories. I like the state when an idea is born in my head, and when it is ripe I tear off the fruit of my thoughts and give real life to my fantasy in the form of a finished photograph. In my works I try to convey as much emotion as possible to the viewer and not leave them indifferent to it.