William Mokrynski is an artist whose work centers on the intimate interaction between photographer, camera, and subject.
His knowledge and mastery of unusual photographic techniques, such as the primitive pinhole camera, allows Mokrynski to achieve this impressive partnership by engaging him with the medium from start to finish. He deliberately reduces digital detachment by his lack of computer manipulations and automated processes. Instead Mokrynski 's images are dynamic, imperfect, real, and prove the possibilities of the imagination. Using more primitive methods demands a stronger connection and sensory awareness in order to capture the essence of his observations. Relying as much on his own intuition as technical direction, Mokrynski takes a chance with every piece.
Triggered by a moment, a feeling, or a sight, his photographs are derived by a kind of cognitive magnetism drawing him to his subject, combined with a desire to express his honest observations of the world and its landscapes. Mokrynski's challenge is to work with the medium to optimize his message; therefore, he strikes a balance between his subconscious attraction to a subject and a conscious decision about how best to photograph it. With curiosity as his motive and experimentation as his method, Mokrynski unfailingly creates unique and intimate portrayals of life experiences. Whether it is using a panoramic camera to highlight the strange artificiality of a set of stairs in the wide expanse of Canadian wilderness or using a pinhole camera to reconstruct a blurred childhood memory, his outcomes strive to make a statement about the way we view the world, both literally and figuratively. Ultimately, Mokrynski's work asks people to think, see, and experience life in a highly reflective way.
- Courtney Lawrence, 2007
April - May, 2010
William Mokrynski will be returning to SAIMAA University, Finland, as a guest lecturer this spring, to spend a few weeks working with 2nd and 3rd year photography students.
April 25 - May 30, 2010
Work selected from Corn Dogs & Candy Apples at Houston Fotofest, will be featured in the 3rd Annual Juried Pinhole Camera Show at the RayKo Gallery in San Francisco. The exhibition opens on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, Sunday April 25 from 12-4 pm, and runs until May 30th.
Work from the series Endroit de vie will be included in the 4-4-4 Exhibit of contemporary pinhole photography at the Centre culturel André Malraux in Le Bourget (Paris), France from March 11 - April 24, then at the Centro Civic Can Basté de Barcelona, Spain, May 20 - June 20.
