In his latest series, István “Taikyo” Szaladják explores the contemporary possibilities of the landscape genre, pushing the boundaries of genre, technique and scale of digital and analogue photography, as well as panoramic photography.
In contrast to the natural phenomena of which it is composed, the landscape exists only when we observe it or record our observations as images.* István Szaladják’s new works are intended to contribute to this issue.
In his meditative photographs and panoramas, the Hungarian landscape appears without human figures, evoking a sense of solitary retreat. Although his photographs may at first glance appear to be landscape depictions linked to the history of Western panel painting, Szaladják’s particular ‘philosophy of solitude’ is essentially based on Far Eastern references: Zen and the Chinese and Japanese ink painting tradition are his main points of reference and inspiration.
His panoramic images are both photographs and paintings, the nearly two-metre-long photographs appearing on watercolour paper, on which they are made using a particular experimental technique. Also active as a cinematographer, Szaladják’s horizontally stretched panoramic images both evoke and exaggerate the CinemaScope film aspect ratio, linking the reference grid to the cinematic tradition of the time.
In the visual analysis of the landscapes displayed, the viewer finds simple, natural subjects: valleys and mountains surrounded by trees, strong contrasts between foreground and background, and large empty spaces. Szaladják strives to return to the original, to the simplicity he has undertaken, intending his works to reveal their inner subtlety only to the attentive and patient observer: the elements of the natural landscape and through them the nature of existence, the absolute.