Emulsja

About this book

Over 80 illustrations -- archival photographs and selected contemporary works -- reflect on the potential hidden in old, damaged photographs. The book is dedicated to the physicality of photography and the phenomenon of materiality in the digital era and, particularly, how traces of various forms of physical destruction both distort the original messages but also give them new meanings. The idea originated while working on a collection of photographs on celluloid and glass negatives by Stefan Burschego (1887-1940), which showed a wide spectrum of types of conservation/destruction. It features works from APF, the National Film Archive, Museum of History of Photography and the Shalom Foundation archives that are examples of various types of damage/devastation. Image flaws shown include: mechanical damages (scratches, stains, cracks), chemical damages (processing gone wrong), biological damages caused by corrosion and damages caused by inappropriate storage or lousy restoration. Descriptions containing the type of damage, written by Monika Supruniuk, are hidden in the folds on the side of each page. In addition, new works were created for this project by three renowned contemporary artists who used some of the destructive processes noted above (Dorothy Buczkowska, Nicolas Grospierre and Kuśmirowski).