ABOUT THE SERIES

Janez Pukšič began creating polaroids in the nineties, when he was inspired by the so-called "metaphysical nudes" (nude with mask in the studio, nude in front of the wall with accentuated duality, the image divided in half with contrasts between light and dark). Chronologically, these were followed by nudes whose corporeality is in the foreground, where light blurs the interior and creates a phantasmatic mood. Protagonists are mostly shown with masks and give the impression of dolls. These images contain some elements of metaphysical painting as well, and join the real and the imaginary, material and transcendental, physical and spiritual. The mask functions symbolically, to hide the invisible, transcendental character of a naked body in front of an observer.
With the development of the motif, the nude gets less and less material and is decomposed in light. Elementary compositions accentuate the female body in natural, relaxed poses without detailed descriptions. There is no interior in the photos, the body is always in the forefront and is transforming into silhouettes. Because of the way the technique emphasises fogginess, tenderness, sensuality, fragility and diffuse light, women and their sexuality are treated at a symbolic, connotative level, while the specifics of the photographic medium are transformed into painterly qualities.