photographer: Monika Drabot
Framed (The Landscape)
2023
#installation (printed image on paper)
size: 18*13*2 cm
Little Show, London, UK
Familiarize yourself with the ubiquitous 'Bliss,' Microsoft's default Windows XP wallpaper—a visual cornerstone of the digital realm, likely one of the most extensively viewed images in history. Yet, before ascending to the iconic status of the internet age, it existed merely as a 'landscape.'
In my contemplation of the visual tapestry of the internet era, I orchestrated a deliberate regression of this image—'Bliss'—to its primal purpose: a resolute return to its roots as a 'landscape photograph.' This metamorphosis was achieved through the tangible act of printing and subsequently folding the image into the semblance of a picture frame. Consequently, the inquiry emerges: amid the virtual dominion of the internet, in this epoch defined by imagery, what precisely captivates our gaze? Are we merely beholding the superficial veneer of the image, or do our eyes penetrate the layers to discern the obscured scenery that lies beyond? Perhaps, in this age of omnipresent images, the authentic world is exclusively unveiled through the portal of the image?
photographer: Monika Drabot