Space Layers | Attila Pácser’s Photo Exhibition

He learned the basics of photography at the Buda Photo and Film Club and went on to obtain a professional qualification from the Industrial Vocational Training Institute No. 6 on Práter Street. Since 1983, he has been working as a freelance photographer. Through continuous experimentation, he arrived at the photo sequence that characterizes his work today. His first series, taken in 1976, was presented two years later in his first solo exhibition at the Budaörs House of Culture. Throughout the 1980s, he was an active participant and one of the main documenters of the alternative art scene. His creative work, influenced by André Kertész, contrasts sharply with the more structured styles of his photographic idols, which include Eugène Atget, August Sander, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn. Among his contemporaries, he is associated with the Hungarian András Baranyay and the Düsseldorf School linked to Bernd and Hilla Becher, including photographers like Thomas Struth.

Since first encountering photography in the 1970s, he has been captivated by the visual representation of space and time, exploring the connection between them, the depiction of various layers, and the expansion of the medium's possibilities. Pácser typically thinks in terms of series, initially employing the analog process of black-and-white photography and later experimenting with recolored images and most recently with digital techniques. At times, the subject of the image inspires him to explore the space itself, its spatial relationships, and its perceptible, almost scenic layers. In other instances, the image-making process reveals the layers that originally inspired his series.

With a few exceptions, the photographs featured in the exhibition consist of a series of studio still lifes and natural scenes, both spontaneous and staged. In some of his premeditated compositions, unpredictable light effects often interfere; however, he effectively manages the sunlight using mirrors before taking the shot. In some cases, chance creates extraordinary scenes. For instance, the interplay between fast and slow motion in the image-space creates a ghostly image with magical effects, while the interaction between the fixed frame of a train window and the passing landscape generates contrast. The intimate, lyrical moods conveyed in Pácser’s images are as distinctive as the presence of humor.

Our exhibition encourage visitors to delve into this captivating realm and immerse themselves in the enchantment of Attila Pácser's vision, which transforms ordinary objects into remarkable masterpieces.

Marianna Mayer

curator of the exhibition