
Janus
- Publisher
- Gnomic Book
- Year
- 2022
- ISBN
- 978-1-957301-00-6
- Specifications
- Hardcover
Photographs made in the same corner of the photographer's studio
Objects include fruits, vegetables and flowers in still-life arrangements
In some images, the artist performs with the objects
Standard and Signed editions available
Janus is another iteration of Birthe Piontek's ongoing inquiry into the topics of memory and change. The photographs in Janus were made in the same corner of Piontek's studio as she explores how an artist can find inspiration in the limitations of a specific space. The notion of transformation is depicted by focusing on objects like fruits, vegetables and flowers—items that are commonly associated with the traditional still-life genre. In some images, the objects are photographed alone; in others, Piontek performs with them. In the combination of body and object, a kinship is revealed. Much of the series rests on the idea of an alikeness of all organic matter that is exposed to the forces of change. We all adapt, mutate, grow and decline every day, even if this transformation is mostly invisible to the eye. Named after the Roman god of beginnings, endings and doorways, Janus is at once a study and a performance: a slow inquiry into how time touches the objects, bodies and rooms it passes through.