Karolis Civinskas Photography

This project began as a photographic investigation into the architectural uncanny.  Through constant repetitive encounters, particular elements of the built environment obtain status of a personal landmark. These landmarks (street corners, gaps between buildings, facades, plants, dead-ends, etc…) connect into a personal network that not only guarantees successful navigation, but also establishes familiar territory.

In my practice camera produces an archive of fragments of the space I traverse through on daily basis. Out of this archive a map of personal significance emerges through a symbolic act of image building. Every image in the series is a composite of two separate and unique negatives. Although this may not be instantly evident, upon discovering the physical split in the image, the viewer is invited to reflect on his/her own relation to the urban matter.   

Moreover, this collaging further emphasises the materiality of the photograph itself, serving as a reminder of its constructed nature. It also raises questions about the limitations of photography as a medium to record operator’s presence in the world: every frame leaves out far much more than it captures.

This fragmentary method is also illustrative of the way we remember places: they are never complete in our memory but emerge as a collection of key elements. This emergence quite often can be rather distressing and uncanny, nevertheless inviting to inspect deeper our relation to the place we occupy and traverse through.