In his work Robo Kocan combines a variety of aesthetic approaches in a rare ratio; the systematic method with an unceasing need to discover the novel, technical excellence with poetry, and an entertaining playfulness in combination with dark journeys into our unconscious. His photographic series reflect both his need and ability to employ reality as a backdrop for the creation of his fantasies. Through his art Kocan doesn’t aim to escape from reality but to broaden the perception and deepen the awareness of elements hidden beneath the surface of everyday life. His artistic work is characterised by a systematic review of photography as a medium and an exploration of the possibilities of its extension. Kocan’s earliest works were created in the early nineties – black and white photographs done at night with flash lighting and multiple exposures in various poses of staged self-images, in which the author is both the director and the actor. Already in these works Kocan exhibits his strongest weapons: poetics, humour, the ability to use visual shortcuts to give birth to a symbolic scene, as well as brilliantly evolved technical mastery.
Gradually, themes of mystery and mysticism become more dominant. His latest works are inhabited by the shadows – doubles of suppressed emotions – which play the main actors on the stage of the artist’s imagination. Kocan’s surrealistic stories invite us to enter the dark landscape of the unconscious and to engage in dialog with the shadow forces of our psyche. The themes of loss, self-discovery and salvation offer an opportunity to explore the relationship between the existential and the spiritual. Given this context, Kocan’s ethereal images evoke the meeting place where good and evil, material and imagery, light and dark begin to overlap in the creation of mythical Mandorla. Juraj Kovačik – photographer Bratislava, Slovakia and Adriana Seifertova – psychotherapist Sydney, Australia
Juraj Kovačik – photographer Bratislava, Slovakia
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Adriana Seifertova – psychotherapist Sydney, Australia