Family Tales (2022) is a project focused on ancestry search, rediscovering author's family archives and interpreting stories by combining archival photographic materials with historic and experimental photographic processes from gum bichromate to wet collodion, chlorophyll printing on leaves from Kuca family hometown to photographic installation. Through a range of printing materials and by reworking collected stories on childhood, sickness, marriage from family members, it reflects on timeless familial relationships. Materials were gathered during visits to Poland over the years of author living abroad and the project was put together in UK.
Magda Kuca - Polish visual artist, photographer and educator based in London, concerned with contexts of memory, home, roots and identity. I am influenced by the supernatural and folklore, working with archival photography, portraiture and storytelling. I utilize historical photographic techniques such as glass plate wet collodion photography, exploring narratives around craft and materiality.Over the past 5 years I have also established my practice in the UK as an educator focusing on early image making methods-cyanotype, pinhole and large format film photography through hands-on workshops and lectures both for established institutions such as University of Arts London(UAL), British Museum, Kew Gardens, London Institute of Photography as well as mentoring fellow photographers from my artist studio. My work has been shown in exhibitions and festivals worldwide including Foto Festival in Lodz (PL), PhotoVisa (RU), Photon Gallery (SL) as well as in solo shows such as Festival Circulations (FR) and UAL (UK). I have received awards and bursaries including Siobhan Coward Grant for analogue photography, LensCulture Art Photography Award. I worked with partners such as WeTransfer and received artwork commissions from the Photography and Archive Research Center. My work was published in monograph by Debuts-Contemporary Polish Photography(PL) and featured by Vogue (IT), China Life (CH), Gente Di Fotografia (IT), Wysokie Obcasy (PL) and appeared on the covers of photography publications such as Black and White Magazine (US), Black+White (UK). Important projects include The Grandmothers-glass plate project referencing early ethnographic records, shown internationally by Aperture Gallery NY (US) and Photo Vogue Festival (IT).