Polish-born photographer and artist MALGORZATA MAJ’s pictures are steeped in the memories of a bygone time. Maj has had a deep fondness for dark symbolism and vintage imagery since a young age and the classic beauty, costumes and settings of her photographs bring to mind the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites or the Romantics. Thus, it was not surprising for us to learn that Maj’s greatest inspiration are these 19th century painters who viewed the world in a more romantic light than their contemporaries.
A TIME OF ROMANCE Malgorzata Maj, born in 1980, graduated from Warmia-Masuria University with a Masters in the arts. Shortly after graduation, Maj became enthralled by the paintings of 19th century Pre-Raphaelite painters. Their ghostly and dreamy visions, so seperated from the hard, real, modern world, has inspired the artist to create her own visions using photography and traditional costumes. Rather than seeing herself as a photographer, Maj relates more to the title of ‘‘photographic painter’’ and focuses on capturing the aethestics and mood of the works that inspires her: the poetry of John Keats, the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, the paintings of John William Waterhouse.
HAUNTED Maj currently lives in London, England, and says that she always spends time in a new city looking for haunted places. Not haunted by ghosts, but by time, by memories of the past. She finds a special quality in photography that attracted her to the medium; a unique combination of what is real and what is intangible. ‘‘It is a quality that I find difficult to explain, it is the language of ghosts’’.
‘‘Since my early years I’ve had a deep fondness for romantic imageries with a hint of dark symbolism, ghostly atmosphere and dreamy visions similar to that found in the works of Mary Shelley or the Bronte sisters. What has always excited me about this sort of atmosphere is the most moving, emotive power they speak with; always under the surface, never too exaggerated… as if afraid to speak with a full voice. I’ve always rather worshipped a certain feeling of an image… reading between the lines, a sensuality of undefined sexuality and a bit of the unknown.’’
This ‘unknown’ is the quality that many artists have searched for, intangible as it may be, and Maj is sure that many of us, artists or not, have also searched for it in our lives, whether consciously or subconsciously.
VINTAGE COSTUMES Malgorzata Maj’s photographs feature elaborate historical and vintage costumes which she tells us are very personal to her. ‘‘I’ve always collected vintage gowns and accessories, including Victorial jewelry. The more I studied certain periods in art, the bigger my collection became.’’. Later, her interest in costumes turned to the study of detail from paintings and she started to design and make her own dresses. ‘‘At the moment I use my own designs and prepare the majority of costumes and accessories. I have found this way of obtaining details for my projects very satisfying.’’
