For Nicolás Janowski, his background as an anthropologist serves as a starting point to embark on a different path. In his extensive photographic projects one can identify the research and fieldwork inherent to the social sciences, but his work is undoubtedly dominated by the fictionalisation of narratives and the indeterminate and ambiguous breadth of meaning of poetic language. While academic learning taught him that there would be a clear-cut method for elaborating and applying knowledge, Nicolás, in contrast, integrates in his images an array of perspectives and knowledge regarding the problems he explores, aiming to show that all social order is contingent and, therefore, susceptible to change.
On this occasion, Janowski presents a selection of works created between 2010 and 2020, comprising five photographic projects: "Afroargentina", " The Liquid Serpent", "Adrift in Blue", "The Intelligence of Flowers", and "Paradise". In these projects, he explores innovative approaches to documenting reality and rendering archives visible. His work proposes a more sensitive and human perspective, both in terms of photographic images and documentary materials.
Janowski's photography aspires to tell alternative stories, forging connections across various disciplines and knowledge domains. It constructs narratives that offer fresh perspectives on both the macro and micro aspects of our surroundings. These photographs are not satisfied with the imperative of the real; they aim to envision new ways of coexistence and inhabiting our world. In the spirit of Jacques Rancière, this photography seeks to unlock the doors to the political, allowing it to ubiquitously and contingently integrate itself within the interstices of the social.
Florencia Battiti
Image: Photographs courtesy of arteXarte