Overview participating exhibitions
Der Aa-kerk
2017
Der Aa-kerk
Agnieszka Rayss
ANATOMY LESSON (2014-2017)
In ANATOMY LESSON, for which she photographed in various museums and at anatomy, pathology and forensic institutes, Agnieszka Rayss examines our relationship with the human body and its representation. Must we always treat the body with respect, also when we need it for scientific purposes? Do we show enough respect when we preserve body parts in formalin for educational purposes? With her images, Rayss raises the question of when a body stops being a body and becomes a specimen. But also: does anatomy contain beauty? Are these objects actually science, art or both?
UKRAINE - In Search of a National Identity
2010
UKRAINE - In Search of a National Identity
Agnieszka Rayss
Agnieszka Rayss
The Pursuit of Happiness
2009
The Pursuit of Happiness
Agnieszka Rayss
Agnieszka Rayss
The hunt for the perfect body. Has the body become a costume or does it remain a part of the person? Is this perfection or parody?
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BEAUTIFUL BODIES (2008)
The hunt for the perfect body. Has the body become a costume or does it remain a part of the person? Is this perfection or parody?
Beyond Walls
2008
Beyond Walls
Agnieszka Rayss
Agnieszka Rayss
East Bloc countries had two TV channels at the most, and no glossy magazines. Freedom of expression and the free market were unattainable. After the fall of the Iron Curtain the whole region fell into the grip of American mass culture. An avalanche of new TV broadcasters, magazines, advertising and consumer goods brought about a cultural revolution. Trends in the field of fashion and lifestyle were avidly copied, Hollywood stars became the new role models. Attitudes regarding sexuality also became more liberated. As a prominent target audience, particularly women were susceptible to the appeal of American popular culture. Agnieszka Rayss, who is still surprised at the speed with which the capitalist dream was embraced and the loss of old values, documented the new, Western-oriented woman in the former East Bloc.
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AMERICAN DREAM (Poland, 2004-2007)
East Bloc countries had two TV channels at the most, and no glossy magazines. Freedom of expression and the free market were unattainable. After the fall of the Iron Curtain the whole region fell into the grip of American mass culture. An avalanche of new TV broadcasters, magazines, advertising and consumer goods brought about a cultural revolution. Trends in the field of fashion and lifestyle were avidly copied, Hollywood stars became the new role models. Attitudes regarding sexuality also became more liberated. As a prominent target audience, particularly women were susceptible to the appeal of American popular culture. Agnieszka Rayss, who is still surprised at the speed with which the capitalist dream was embraced and the loss of old values, documented the new, Western-oriented woman in the former East Bloc.
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AMERICAN DREAM (Poland, 2004-2007)
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AMERICAN DREAM (Poland, 2004-2007)
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AMERICAN DREAM (Poland, 2004-2007)
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AMERICAN DREAM (Poland, 2004-2007)
Biography
Agnieszka Rayss (Poland, 1969) studied Art History at the Uniwersytet JagielloÅ„ski in Kraków, and works as a freelance documentary photographer. She is the co-founder of Sputnik Photos International Association of Photojournalists. In 2011 and 2012, she won a Pictures of the Year International Award. Her series American Dream and Beautiful Bodies were exhibited at the Noorderlicht Photo Festivals Behind Walls (2008) and Human Conditions (2009). In 2011, American Dream came out in book form.
