Zenith

A long-term production of the cycle Zenith in various parts of Europe deprives photographic space of its attachment contex even in terms of national belongingness. By photographing places through the prism of their hectic industralization, I put together areas of West and East Europe, Scandinavia and South, each time focusing on their common character of no-places (meaningless spaces among and on a mark made in the landscape by conscious human work). As a result, we are allowed to - in a charcoal pile or an industrial road - notice someone’s intentional action and ef- fort in a still process of space reinterpretation and of giving a meaning. - I am quoted Marc Auge and the concept of non-place. I am taking a less descriptive and more philosophical approach in my work. Auge is certainly a reference not only for anthropology and urban planning, but for those who want to reflect on the representation of space. Zenith is an imaginary point, located directly above a particular location. Perspective from there turns landscape into a pattern, creating an ideal, objective order - also imaginary. However, this is a theory. Real perception comes out of empirical experience, filtered through subjective view. Zenith is a body of work, collecting topographic view on various non-places. Stating idea behind this term, Marc Auge coined it to describe places without enough significance to be thinked of as proper places, but this also comes down to a subjective perception. As man alters landscape, it becomes an imprint of the perception of both the creator and the user, thus being an evidence of their actions and intentions that will eventually last. Even when in perfect order from up above, all places are subjected to a constant reformulation and repurposefi- cation. Text: Paweł Starzec