BORIS ELDAGSEN & TOMASZ LAZAR – BLACK MIRROR
ART CLUB BELLEVUE HALL
What triggers fear? Boris Eldagsen and Tomasz Lazar have been analyzing techniques of fear since 2017. They have found that the more vague a threatening situation is, the easier it is to project one’s fears onto it. This psychological mechanism is similar to the “black mirror,” a reflective black surface of obsidian, water or oil used by the ancient Greeks, Hebrews, Persians and Mayans as a projection surface for oracles and prophecies. Science shows that if we stare long enough at a pitch black surface, our brain, confused by sensory deprivation, projects images and colors, memories and emotions onto that blank surface. Or as Nietzsche put it, “If you look into an abyss for a long time, the abyss will also look into you.”
With “Black Mirror” Eldagsen & Lazar create a photographic equivalent to this technique. They use it to unleash the viewer’s subconscious and let their memories and fears off the leash. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H.P. Lovecraft
Boris Eldagsen. Born in 1970, studied fine arts at the art academies of Mainz, Prague and Hyderabad, and philosophy at the universities of Cologne and Mainz. His photomedia works have been shown internationally in institutions and festivals such as Deichtorhallen Hamburg, CCP Melbourne, ACP Sydney, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn, SIPF Singapore, Chobi Mela Dhaka and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. He has been teaching at international art academies since 2004. He is a member of the German Photographic Academy and lives in Berlin.
eldagsen.com
instagram.com/boriseldagsen
Tomasz Lazar. Born in 1985 in Szczecin, Poland. Graduate of the West Pomeranian University of Technology, Faculty of Computer Science and IT. Winner of photo competitions such as the World Press Photo, POY, CHIPP, Sony World Photography Award, BZWBK Press Photo, Grand Press Photo, Lumix Festival for Young Journalism. His work has been published in the New York Times, Newsweek International, Sunday Times Magazine, New Yorker and Los Angeles Times. Lives and works in Warsaw.
www.tomaszlazar.pl
instagram.com/tomaszlazar