Tanja Verlak’s work emphasizes the relationship between the indexical image and its imaginary aspects, rooted in 19th-century photography’s role as a reliable representation of reality. This theme was central to her doctoral thesis, exploring how photography captures the invisible and unreal. Her series Midnight in Mumbai (2012-2019) embodies this exploration, highlighting gestures of observation and the magical in photography. For Verlak, the focus is on how we perceive, often using the term »apparition« to describe her subjects. The series features marginalized scenes and environmental themes, predominantly at night. Using strong contrasts and textures, her handmade bromide silver photographs present almost mystical images, representing concepts that transcend their visual presence.
About the artist:
Tanja Verlak (b. 1979, Slovenia) earned her doctorate at the Royal College of Art in London and exhibited around the globe. She is one of the most internationally successful contemporary Slovenian artists. Her oeuvre is charactarised with her mastery of analog photography, which she gives a central role in her work.