Love Actually

Filip Ćwik is one of the artists who use, process and edit things they discover in the virtual world. Knowingly exceeding the limits of privacy, he watched cybersex sessions and discreetly documented online rendezvous for more than a year and a half. However, these “borrowings” are not the main theme of Ćwik’s photographic series - the artist takes a nearly obsessive interest in studying human behaviours and emotions. This translates into a gesture-based tale of loneliness and helplessness. Ćwik sensitively composes his photographs and is not afraid of exposing the porn reality he is observing. Carefully studied shots, often taken out of the original context, change the perception of pornographic image thanks to intended aestheticisation achieved through digital manipulation. The pixels visible in the photos become the dominant elements of the graphic and eliminate the purely sexual, violent and shocking nature of the images. The perverse title of the series "It's just love" is not a sarcastic comment by the author. It emphasizes the isolation and exploration of the substitutes for love in the reality dominated by virtual contact. Agata Ubysz