Welcome to
the Darkroom
Hi there! So glad you could make it. The show's about to begin, but before sauntering through the halls of this gallery, I’d like to take the time to bid you welcome. It is my genuine hope that somewhere in these corridors an image will catch your eye; will spark a memory… a reflection… perhaps even an idea. As the ol’ adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Gaze long enough, and you may hear a thousand more. So… without further ado, please… step right in…
ABOUT
Tarik Polansky is a Los Angeles based editor, animator and photographer. He holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from UCSD and an M.F.A. in Film & Television Production from USC. As an undergrad he wrote and directed an ambitious, modern retelling of the legend surrounding Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory, which premiered on October 31st at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in San Diego. He has worked professionally as a film distribution sales executive, project developer, creative consultant, editor, cameraman and motion graphics artist. He is also a published writer and has both taught and assisted courses on film and editing.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As sand filters through the hourglass, and minute hands faithfully snap toward the hour, it would seem that our lives have fallen into a staunch and established rhythm — that Father Time has maintained the advantage. Yet photography can halt this process, freezing the minute hands altogether. In an increasingly fast-paced environment, where stimuli bombard us at every turn, photography’s value has therefore never been more critical.
See for yourself. Find a photograph, one that speaks to you. Sit with it a while, let your mind wander, your eyes explore its furthest corners; you’ll discover the hands of time have slowed. In this process, you will have gained something back: life.
My photography work has two objectives: to ignite the imagination and conjure our forgotten past. A bridge giving passage over a stream, for instance, could lead home — or to a world parallel to ours, a world of astounding wonder. A bizarrely formed tree, while a natural curiosity, could also suggest a living, breathing entity buried somewhere deep within our consciousness. With each image, I attempt to peel away the veil of reality to see what lies beneath. I am always searching for the frontier between shadow and light, where the darkest corners hide what only the imagination can reveal.
When it comes to my design work or animation, I aim to conjure that same sense of exploration, of communicating an insightful discovery. As technology continues to expand and develop, we find ourselves drifting further and further away from our roots — that of connecting with the natural world, the spiritual world. My hope is that my photography and other creative work can perhaps, in some small way, slow things down long enough to help us reconnect.
IMAGINARIUM
