God Knows What Is In Your Head
Zuzana Hruskova
Issue 43 Summer 2005
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'God Knows What Is In Your Head'
This is a quote from my mother. This is how she comments on my work. Sometimes I take photographs to defend myself. I also photograph to feel the place or understand the specificity of moment or situation. I am sick of photography, and this is another reason I photograph. There is lot of silence in my work and I don’t necessarily like to be seen taking the photograph.
Remains - secret photography - 2003, Newcastle upon Tyne (Images 1-3)
Fenham is a location in Newcastle upon Tyne, where plenty of asylum seekers from different parts of the world live. I lived there for two years. There were two back-alleys I started to walk through every week. I used to come back to the place all the time; alleys with their particular character became my personal affair. My mind was struggling through the remains of old furniture, rubbish, shoes and anonymous personal items. I realised that things were disappearing and changing, someone was moving them or aggressively destroying them. The mess of the streets disgusted me, but after a short time I became seduced by curiosity so I kept returning and taking pictures. One day there was nobody around, just myself. I was trying to focus my camera when suddenly, there was the Police Officer standing above me. He must have followed me there. He asked: "Why are you taking this dirty picture?" I aswered: "I think it’s beautiful." He was shocked: "What do you mean by beautiful? Are you enjoying yourself? Do you get some pleasure from it? Did you open that nappy by yourself? I think you will have to come with me." I felt so strange. I think I was smiling. I knew he wouldn’t understand at all, if I started to explain my own theory of beauty. At the same time, I had so many reasons to refuse his attitude. I said: "I photograph things as they are, I don’t touch, or move them. Somebody else does it for me." He looked embarrassed. I guess he didn’t know what to say any more, or how to defend himself, so he quietly left.
Brother In The Clouds - Secret photography, 2003 (Image 4)
I took this photograph anonymously during my brother’s wedding photo-shoot, while the official photographer was at the toilet.
I’ve Fucked The Mozart - private photography - 2003, Vienna, Austria (Images 5-8)
It was May 2003. I was staying at the Euben Hotel opposite to train station in Vienna. The only thing I could see, hear, feel and read about was the Mozart. I started seeing him all over.
Can I Photograph Your Child? - 2004, Newcastle (Images 9-11)
It is nearly impossible to photograph children without getting consent from their parents. To get the shot I started to ask the parents whether I could photograph their child. If parent agreed they instantly staged their child to fulfill their visual expectation. Like this, the moment became something else ... a kind of unnatural possession.
A Private Photographic Archive - 2001-2004 (Images 12-14)
A bleaching process to bleach my photographic collection to its base. A pure white photographic result is all we get! Keep the bleach, changed by washing process, all pictures presented as a chemical extract containing all photo-facts, details, memories. Medium: glass bottle, used bleach, titles of all removed photographs.
Visitor – secret photographs - 2003-2005, Slovakia (Images 15-18)
Each time I visit my parents, I secretly photograph their flat. I photograph their ritual environment which is a tiny two bedroom flat situated in the middle of Slovakia. I record their neatly organised everyday life. I usually wait until they leave their flat, then I quietly photograph.
Boutique Zuzana - secret photography - 2003-2005, Newcastle (Images 19-37)
This work draws on the personal day-to-day usage of the public computers in the local City library in Newcastle, UK. I record the ‘trajectory’ of saved individuals using the public computers. I intend to explore the visual communication pattern, where the shared computer acts as an electric show-room, allowing people to save and pass the information further.
