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  OkNo Gallery
  Chelyabinsk, Russia

 
EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS

Marina Shumakova
(Chelyabinsk)
ESSENTIA
Photography
November 19 - December 5, 2014

Marina Shumakova. Light mediums

By author

There are a few surprising lines belonging to Valery Bryusov,
"The shadow of uncreated creatures
Flickers in sleep,
Like palm fronds
On an enamel wall..."

Exactly so, "the shadow of uncreated creatures..." Inšmy series "Light", the gleam of light bordering on Plato's eidos has not acquired yet the iconic image clarity. That's what's beckoning me, and keeping me both disturbed and surprised... That's the beauty of the art of photography for me! That's just where the photographer's task is often utterly unpredictable, even to his or her own surprise. Some detail, gleam or a fleck of light, something what Barthes calls the "punctum," which you may not even notice while you dip your eye into the vague space of the lens, will all of a sudden transform into a carcase, a "hook" for a dazzling array of real forms that start piling up in an unthinkable way, in a maze-like color and composition pattern, to breathe new life into the simulated but artistically justified imagery of the space in a photo. As is well known, even the most realistic style, such as pictorial realism, uses the techniques to just artistically duplicate the look of things that may be already present in the real world. Photography, in my view, is quite consistent in implementing this principle. I am taking an absolutely minimal role in this process, as I see it: my task is to enhance, and do not harm, what has even been originally present on the photosensitive plate exposed to light in the digital camera. As far as I am aware, photo-shooting is a great occasion for practicing humility: after all, you're just "releasing the shutter button." Marina Shumakova

A b o v e : Marina Shumakova. From series "Light mediums", 2013-2014