Apeiron

Photonegatives lost and forgotten decades ago in the towns and villages of Chornobyl have been undergoing very slow degradation over the past 35 years, influenced by radiation and the forces of nature. Passing through stages of disappearance, erasure, and decay, they preserved traces of bodies or objects that left their imprint on the photosensitive emulsion of the photographic film. These slowly dying photonegatives become symbols of our vulnerability to time and nature. The photosensitive layers of the emulsion serve as a metaphor for our own impermanence and fading memories. Art created from these degraded materials transports us to a world where the boundaries between reality and abstraction blur. We delve into an internal dialogue between human perception and materials destined for oblivion. In such works, photographs become artifacts of time, evoking not only an interest in the past but also philosophical questions about the nature of memory and human life. Thus, degraded photonegatives become not only art but also a window into our inner selves, a place where we can immerse ourselves in a world of meanings beyond ordinary perception.