The Slovak photographer explores the multiple possibilities of portraiture and architecture in shots where conceptual art and surrealism prevail between color and black and white.
Michal Zahornacky situates his work between reality and fiction. The eclecticism of his images invites us into highly imaginative visual narratives. Originally from Považská Bystrica in Slovakia, this lifelong photography enthusiast has built his career as a self-taught artist, finding his own path by experimenting with the photographic medium according to his desires and inspirations. For the past ten years, his subjects have varied from one series to the next, showcasing the breadth of his ambitions and abilities. Among his preferred themes, this thirty-something explores identity, the body, architecture, and underwater photography. His portraits are always combined with a specific metaphor within a stylized environment. For what he enjoys is playing with the viewer's expectations, allowing them to observe and question what they are looking at.
Breaking stereotypes
Michal Zahornacky's multifaceted work thus transports us to dreamlike elsewhere, lost in the misty moors (Emotions II)… or plays with the movement of the water, distorting silhouettes and faces to counter the dictates of society and show all the beauty of imperfection (Curves)… or even reshapes the architecture with geometric forms and superimposed, repetitive patterns, alluding to the suffocating atmosphere of the pandemic (CloseThe artist avoids digital editing for most of his photographs, undertaking meticulous creative work with shadow and light in his studio: "I love natural light. I have large windows that allow me to use it as often as possible. Although sometimes I also use strobe lighting, but never outdoors." Her work, which has earned her several awards and exhibitions around the world, pursues an insatiable quest for another form of beauty.
