Kamil Matziol (PL)
Hidden Subject
The project Hidden Subject is a series of photographs depicting Kamil’s self-portraits. In each photograph, the only evidence of the artist’s presence is a red pneumatic air release with which Kamil connects to his camera by releasing the shutter. It is also a tip for the viewer where to find the subject of photography/self portrait. With this kind of action the artist attempts to draw the viewer into his game, based on one basic principle. The viewer must believe that he really is there. For as long as people trust him to be the author, Kamil’s intentions are fulfilled. “Trust is knowledge and faith in action. It is the fulfilment of our expectations towards the object, the subject. The medium of photography has a special ability to distort truth. Photography owes the power to visually fabricate and re-narrate its subject matter into a seemingly truthful story even though the reality is often contradictory. People strive for trust, people need hope. Meanwhile, they are being continuously cheated.” Matziol Various artworks of the artist were exhibited at the National Museum of Finland, Cultural Centre Stoa, Karhupuisto, and JCDecaux Finland.
26
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY Kamil Matziol’s statement photographs serve as a testimony for the existence of a point in space that is constantly changing. They enable observation of something invisible and ephemeral. By taking photographs he equally enables himself to depict a sense of reality that has already passed. In his personal opinion, people themselves form an image that somehow reflects on an interpretation of reality. Kamil is fascinated by the fact that viewers tend to trust what they see. They often identify their own experiences with the stories they observe in images which ultimately affects and redirects their thoughts in a certain direction. The artist attempts to create photographs that reflect that sum of feelings. His projects consist of a series of images in which the main subject matter are human beings and their existence. He chooses to create those situations that are not always comfortable or functional. Kamil is also interested in the consumption nature of existence and its production effects as well as the change in the proportion between objects and people. In his work, the photographer seeks the answer to the following questions: how did humans find themselves in the environment in which they create and what gives a meaning to such principles. In order to answer these queries, Kamil has adopted an artistic method that requires him to continuously recollect and reproduce situations based on conceptual elements.
