Fotograf Magazine

Is it possible to consider the images by Jáchym Myslivec to still be photographs? What conditions must an image meet in order to be called a “photographic image”? Technology? A representation of reality? A certain relationship to the presenter?

Digital technology has transformed the essence of photography itself. A photo is no longer a memory of that which was, a memento mori of our existence, but rather a collection of data, independent of the space-time continuum, where the present is characterized by the uninterrupted flow of a billion photos that immediately disappear within their own entropy. Overproduction dominates – the ritual functions of art were suppressed long ago, even though the need for them is still apparent in the works of many artists, just like the desire to discover and reveal that which is hidden below the surface. The ranks of these artists include Jáchym Myslivec – an artist of the young generation, who, in his works has for quite some time been experimenting with historical photographic techniques that he updates within the context of current topics.