BEYOND THE SHADOW - WIKTOR JACKOWSKI

√

The works of Wiktor Jackowski are like moments caught in the eye of camera. These are fleeting seconds which may not be repeated again, but at the same time remain so much like many others. Their exceptionality is constituted by singling them out of their surroundings, entitling them to discern their full form and meaning. During the exhibition of “Beyond The Shadow” in Sandhofer Gallery, we are taken by the artist into the realm of shadow and light, void and fullness.

Jackowski is a keen observer of reality. He depicts a single piece or an occurrence, sampling them from their natural domain in order to have a closer look and confront with the spectator’s reaction. These extracts, coherent with either urban fabric or nature, construct a part of our ordinary reality. We take them for granted daily, since they remain kind of invisible in the frantic pace of life, so obvious and down-to-earth to become worthless of beholding. Few of us think whether somebody might have only just been sitting on a momentarily empty chair, nobody notices flags flying above their heads, and a billboard may at most infuriate us with its glare displaying banal advertisements.

The title “Beyond The Shadow” can be interpreted in multiple ways in the context of Jackowski’s work. Beyond the shadow is beyond what remains the unknown  and induces anxiety. There is supposed to be lightness both ahead and beyond the shadow. The light is signified by an enlightenment – understanding the depth of everyday occurrences or the meaning of things which surround us. Nothing we see at the first glance appears as it seems. Everything defies simple classification. The titled ‘going beyond the shadow’ reveals the real meaning of matters, divests them of their “random” layer.