About
Biography
Michal Jaworski is a photographer and fine art printmaker. His photo-based artwork is a result of an in depth study of the medium related technologies, and their potential in terms of creating new possibilities for artistic expression and visual experience.
The subject matter of his works is primarily portraiture, and urban and natural landscapes. Engaged in several long-term projects, for each he devises an original creative process designed to find technical means to fulfill a vision, and to always, in some way, push the boundaries.
Michal sees his work as an extension of his ongoing practice of mindfulness, and a conviction that everything can be infinitely interesting if you look at it carefully enough. Inspired by his believe in a hidden potential and inherent complexity of all things, he devises means to dig deep.
Largely self-taught, with a background in painting, drawing and graffiti art, Michal also developed a thriving business, which specializes in museum quality, state-of-the-art fine printing. His most recent artwork was shown last year (2016) in three solo exhibits; many of his works have been acquired by private collectors.
Statement
I would rather not define how my work is to be viewed, and especially not by talking about it. I hope to create images that don’t require explanation, images that work without subtitles. Words are limiting, they tend to set unnecessary boundaries.
Also, an artwork manifests itself in a moment of interaction with a viewer, every time being experienced through the prism of a present moment and whatever we bring to it. A work’s meaning is therefore ever-changing, fluid; I can’t tell you what it is, not even what it is for me — as soon as I’m done explaining, I might have to start over.
I explore and question the nature of the photographic medium, but don’t intend to, through my work, engage in an art-historical debate. My work is not a vehicle for a statement or a means of expression, but rather it is an outcome of a study in realizing a potential.
I strive to define and solve problems, to expand possibilities and push boundaries, and, ultimately, to show something new. Each image I create is a culmination of a complex and highly controlled process, but you don’t need to be aware of neither technical, nor conceptual composite parts of the image.
I control the process but not the meaning; I embrace the unpredictability of what it is that will be found in the work itself. Finally, I believe a work of art should actively engage its viewer and make a lasting impact.
One of the many ways in which it can do so, is to be a catalyst for a new experience. Whether you see it, feel it, or think about it, there is a potential affective value in being confronted with even the slightest deviation from familiar and predictable. This can happen through content and/or form — what a photograph shows, and perhaps more importantly for me, how it shows it.
And because there is always more to reality than what camera can impartially see, it is worth to keep looking for ways a photographic image can show more; by offering something not quite seen before, an image transcends the ordinary, and new ways for it to interact meaningfully and make and impact may be born.