SPUTNIK PHOTOS: THE GEOMETRY OF IMAGINATION
Artists: Agnieszka Rayss, Jan Brykczyński, Michał Łuczak, Rafał Milach & Karolina Gembara, Adam Pańczuk, Péter Puklus.
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, the photographers from Sputnik Photos interpret both the artistic and the social aspects of Polish avant-gard of 20’ and 30’ of the XX century. Through photos, videos and objects they pursue the topical items at the moment in Poland and Europe. On the occasion of the presentation at the Mai Mano House, they have invited the Hungarian photographer Peter Puklus to be a part of the exhibition for the purpose of dialog and for his approach from an outsider perspective.
Curator: Claudia Küssel, leading curator of Mai Manó House
Sputnik Photos
Sputnik Photos is an international collective of Eastern and Central European photographers. Founded in 2006, it has taken its members’ direct experience of the region they inhabit as a point of departure for an examination of the sociopolitical processes and sociocultural phenomena which have driven this region’s transformation since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Over the course of the past decade, Sputnik has used photography, film, and the format of the photobook to assemble an open-ended record of sequential or elliptical developments within the former Eastern Bloc, with the ongoing Lost Territories project representing the group’s specific focus on post-Soviet states.
Experimenting with form, content, and dissemination across multiple platforms, and in collaboration with curators, writers, and graphic artists, the collective has channeled its process and practice into an evolving debate over documentary photography’s modern-day potential and applicability within society.
A key component of Sputnik’s engagement with its geographic home base has been its commitment to mentoring and initiating visual education programs aimed at guiding and promoting promising young artists from the region throughout the creative process. Such educative endeavors are central to the collective’s core mission of setting out into the world not only as documentary photographers and visual artists, but as actively engaged citizens and dedicated participants in all of the above.