Fotograf Zone – Julie Hrnčířová

In the project, Everyday Sculptures, I have been concerned for a long time with photographing objects, situations and details that are in public space and help to create the chaos and dynamism of the city. The areas that I have photographed face considerable poverty, which leads their inhabitants to make their own tools and equipment from the things that surround them. Recycling existing items is a matter of course for local communities. I perceive their creations as the result of present material need and, on the global scale, as testimony to the uncertain and volatile political and economic situation. These seemingly banal and fleeting objects and situations are artifacts reflecting creativity, ingenuity and a kind of sense for amateur DIY. I see random sculptures and installations created by human intervention as ‘ready-mades’ that are transformed from a purely functional object into a work of art. I address conflict between the new and the old. At present, we are in a period when everything worn and once used is thrown away and replaced with a new product. For me, these street elements represent traces of the clash of traditional habits with the ubiquitous globalization that has become the main engine of society.

I am fascinated by mistakes and imperfections of objects that someone has tried to restore to their original state or to beautify, and which break up the everydayness and sterility of the street.

All images: Julie Hrnčířová, Everyday Sculptures, 2016–now

Julie Hrnčířová

lives and works in Oslo. She studied at the Faculty of Art and Design, University in Ústí nad Labem and graduated from École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, France. She completed several internships in Leipzig at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in the studio of Tina Bara and in Prague at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in the studio of Aleksandra Vajd and Hynek Alt. Her work was part of the Les Rencontres de la Photographie festival in Arles and the collective exhibition at the GapGap Gallery in Leipzig.

#37 Uneven Ground

The opportunities to encounter the Other – someone other than myself – are transforming dynamically, thanks in part to technological developments and the possibilities for sharing both images and other information. However, we often isolate ourselves in smooth bubbles of sameness and the others disappear. Photography mediates encounters, but it is also a medium that alienates. Uneven terrain is a place where we meet; where our relationships take place, whether they are personal or social and political. The aim of this issue is to seek out possibilities for encounters and the sharing of emotions through the media of photography and video, which either balance out the unevenness of the terrain or allow both parties to profit from it. As the terrain is uneven, our aim is to give space to works that facilitate encounters with the Other and to revive the function that in this sense can be attributed to the documentary media of photography and film.