[Exhibition] Infinity of Glances

At the core of Pawel’s artwork, I feel an artistic purpose: he seems to re-examine humanity’s thoughts, beliefs, and stereotypes. He conceptually conveys his meta-critical consciousness in simple ways. The art he offers us is an opportunity for philosophical meditation. The more he implements his work via uncomplicated ideas, the more we cannot help but feel his creativity.
“Infinity of Glances” is an installation composed of four slide projectors projecting images upon the walls of an otherwise dark room. According to Pawel, the slides are sorted into four groups: “the origin of the universe,” “mythology,” “present,” and “future.”
Through these four groups, Pawel has reconstructed the introduction, development, turn, and conclusion of our living world. By becoming trapped within our very own self-created established routines, we as mankind can be found in a present which is not at all different from the past, and yet we remain so preoccupied with a mighty power of the future that the past remains out of the question: to speak linguistically, this is a presentation made in the past perfect tense.
The exhibition’s point of departure asks, “will a single individual in the world create even the tiniest difference?,” “to what extent is an individual bound – from second to second – to that which is beyond him?” When one idles within Pawel’s exhibition, staring at the four groups of projected photos, it is best to allow the mind to wander. This momentary trance – a philosophical instant – liberates the mental wanderer: freed from the present, he may experimentally create the future. In this way we may use our lives, though fleeting, to make real change.
(Terai Motokazu, Head of Matsudo Community Planning Council )
Project Infinity of Glances is a concept of photographic installation, employing analogue, multiple screen, looped and simultaneous slide projections. Installation assumes engagement of ambient space and creation of multivariate narration; as well adhibiting transparencies with written word, short literary forms.
Technological basis of the installation are rotary projectors Kodak Carousel, at least four of them, 80 slides in each. Project is based on photographic found footage – educational and memorial slides sets published in 1950-1980 in Poland, USA, United Kingdom, USSR, Israel, China, Japan, Brazil and India(involuntarily close to BRIC investment funds interest areas); as well as slides from collection, archives and mine, contemporary photographs taken on diapositive film.
One of the starting points is slides set Imperial Education Resources (1978 NY, USA) titled Enough Food for Everyone. It consists of slides organized in six themes, including six localization. Each theme consists of approximately 70 slides and cassette tape with quarter of an hour audio presentation.
Themes:
How Much Food Does a Person Need? – USA
What is There to Eat? – Indie
Food, Water, and Civilization – Egypt
Food, the Land, and the People – Mexico
Food, the Environment, and You – Japan
Working Together to Solve the Food Problem – Tanzania
Infinity of Glances is en effort to ‘write’ illustrated history of parallel world, or alternative history of Earth, or history of alternative Earth – for instance, of the Earth where fossil fuels are not predominant source of energy, where economy is not based on gain, or where ego of entity has direct motive power. It requires creation on new cosmogony, mythology and history until the day when it is illustrated. Project assumes construction of Utopia and its visual representation in historical context; collective idea, which carrier is photography. It is a work focused on image, knowledge and its distribution, memory, history and process of it creation. What interest me the most is the course in which fact becomes an image, and the image is fixed in culture, where being transformed from physical object to idea; becomes long-lived, virtually indestructible. As far as human consciousness and collective memory is.
I would love Infinity of Glances installation to be infused with poetry, not sleek aesthetics though. I envision
work that bring together critical approach and poetic form. Project employs hugh narrative structure and its build of image and history theory, theory of photography. I assume outcome of time-based epic installation, that requires space and time for optimal reception