"Multiple Perspectives" series examines the relationship between architecture, city and human in the city—through photography.
Our second guest is Pawel Franik. He is a Warsaw based Polish artist who has studied film and photography. He is currently creating series nourished from urban and rural environments combined with human solitude.
“Photography lets us show the world in many ways, and the way we choose is largely dependent on the situation or a phenomenon that we want to show, and of course, on us alone.”
All your series seem to have a focus object in the middle of each image—either a person or a cat, either a car or a sign. Can we define this as your signature?
It all has emerged with the passage of time. I have been looking for my own photographic style for a long time, the style which I would enjoy the most, and which could help me show the world just as I perceive it. It is the establishing shot that has always been drawing my attention in a movie. The vast space, and something or someone in it. I love it! However, I do not restrict myself to this motive only. Photography lets us show the world in many ways, and the way we choose is largely dependent on the situation or a phenomenon that we want to show, and of course, on us alone.
“On His Own” is a collection that shows the relationship between people / cities / landscapes. How can you explain why each human figure is pretty tiny compared to the environment surrounding it?
While making this series, I focused on spaces, the important places for a certain person. Sometimes the pictures were posed, and the place was very significant to the person I was photographing. Sometimes, though, I just took a picture of a person in their working place. Most of us have their own favourite place or places, in which we like to spend our time, alone or with our family or friends. I particularly focus on the moment in which we are left alone, and I don't mean loneliness. I mean the time when we can ponder on ourselves, and enjoy our solitude.
You produce projects both in photography and cinema. What’s the feature they have in common that takes your attention?
When I make a movie or take a photo, I always focus on the aesthetics, form and composition in particular. More importantly, though, I focus on the light that builds the vividness of a picture.
You seem to have two distinct ranges in your series: black & white’s and pale tones. What do you think the role of color in photography is?
Next to the composition and the motif of a picture, a colour is the other tool in the photographer's hands. The colour can be a motif itself, it can build a harmony, or destroy it. Every tint evokes some emotions inside us, and, as I believe, the emotions are the most relevant here.
What are the differences between the reality and the reflection/result it creates through photography?
The universal concept of photography has always been seen as the truthful reflection of reality. A picture has always been more realistic than a painting. People believe that photography tells the truth. The recent years, though, have changed this belief diametrically. The softwares for image processing whose interference in appearance is unlimited and almost imperceptible, have made us distrustful. However, what is true and what is not true in photography is still the key issue for the way in which we receive or create art.