WERONIKA GĘSICKA

TRACES

28. 7. – 3. 9. 2017

Traces are, by definition, signs or evidence of the past. They are the proof of a presence in previous events. Hence photographs are tangible examples of such traces. For her project Weronika has chosen vintage American archival photography from the 1950-60s purchased from an image bank. Images of family scenes, holiday souvenirs and otherwise everyday life – all of which she has uniquely suspended anywhere between truth and fiction. It is difficult to determine whether the images were taken spontaneously or were entirely staged. Moreover we know nothing of the actual relationships between people; we can only guess how much truth there is in their gestures and gazes. Who are they? Are they actors playing happy families or real people? The images, modified in various ways, are wrapped this way in new contexts. Photography, objects and artefacts are the central focus of Gęsicka’s art. Her projects address topics related to memory and its mechanisms. She often works with archival materials, images found on the internet, stock photo libraries, police archives and those found in the press.
Weronika Gęsicka (1984) is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Akademia Fotografii in Warsaw. She is a winner of LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards (2016) and a finalist of Prix HSBC pour la Photographie(2017), Prix Levallois (2016) and the Cracow Photomonth Festival (2016). She has participated in various shows in Poland and in Europe. www.weronikagesicka.com

Czech television report

PROJECT