Narrative photography has a special place in the field of art as it suggests the disjointedness of reality. Usually, the pieces that form reality cannot be put together and it is almost not possible for a person to make sense of it all. Though in reality one cannot place these pieces together to form a common narrative, photography can achieve the result of forming narratives through which one can form associations and draw both linear and non-linear recounting.
Ela Gora is a Polish born photographer who currently lives and works in Hampshire, England. She combines her photographs in series in order to create narratives. Being personal and psychologically conditioned, these stories reveal a deep understanding of human thought, emotions and subjective experience. One of the series titled “fly my love” perhaps suggests the self-destructive nature of human beings.
Many of the photographs in her series reveal the worry and agony writ large on the face, and these emotions culminate in the blankness of thought or non-existence of the being. She uses different lighting techniques to create a narrative that when viewed in an order, form a story that wasn’t told. Such narratives explore the ideas of disjointedness as one needs to put things together.
These stories could be too personal to be revealed or said verbally. Hence, these photographs provide the viewer an insight into the artist’s mind and yet allow them to form their own interpretations. Everyday situations, thoughts and ideas are given a special place in each of the series and when all are placed together, they form a narrative.
Ela Gora’s works reveal a deep understanding of the human predicament and angst. She uses superior photographic techniques in order to achieve the effect one can see in her series. Her photographs and the series represent the same incoherence of ideas and experiences that one goes through. Perhaps there isn’t meant to be any sort of coherence in reality, and only in an abstract state of mind can one assume or perceive some sort of coherence and cohesion.
Posted on April 26th, 2009 at 11:17 pm by Jaiyant Cavale
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