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One of Mikołaj Smoczyński's important areas of interest was experimental photography, which he used to record the changing states of space and lapse of time. The distinctive series among these is the one whose hero is the artist himself. In an empty studio Smoczyński arranged a secret performance, whose only witness was the camera and only evidence an image on photographic film. The successive frames show the artist lying on a dusty floor. Long exposure allowed the artist to capture the ephemeral nature of the activity. As a result, the figure immersed in a dark background is blurred, hardly visible for the viewer, anonymous. The most distinctive element are the artist's hands, which offer a hint as to the further identification of the presented shape. Additional interference in the final effect took place during the development process, in which the artist illuminated the prints with a torch. Thanks to it every item is unique. Special framing, deep shadows and a large scale of prints make the captured situation seem unreal and disturbing.

Mikołaj Smoczyński (1955–2009) pursued painting, photography, drawing, performance; created objects and installations. He studied at the State Higher School of Fine Arts in Łódź (1974–1975) and graduated from the Institute of Art Education at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (diploma in 1979 from Jan Popek's studio); in the years 1984–1985 he worked as a fellow at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in Ryszard Winiarski's studio. For many years he was a teacher at the Institute of Art Education of his alma mater. The artist, whose key period of artistic work fell on the 1980s and 1990s, is best known for his site-specific installations and black and white photographs documenting three-dimensional installations as well as architectural and spatial arranagements.

His works are in the collections of, among others, Bunkier Sztuki, MOCAK, Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Zachęta in Warsaw, Museum of Art in Łódź, Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, Society for the Encouragament of Fine Arts in Lublin.

The first part of the photographic triptych