Maciek Jasik's Wonderland of Colors and Lights

Maciek Jasik’s photography is an experiment with colors and haziness. Ethereal and surreal, the New York based photographer's work is as much a question as it is art. We chatted to the artist about his ways of seeking society's relationship with the natural world, exploring ideas of identity, gender and the self in a world of endless colors.

Maciek Jasik, a New Yorker originally from Poland, has long been a fine arts photographer, and his unique portraiture has increasingly appeared in mainstream magazines. No matter the stage, his work is recognizable by the vibrant haziness and super-saturated color gradients.

What influences your work?

Nature and painting combine to influence my work. I’m preoccupied with how modern life separates us from nature, so I seek out experiences in the wild. Painting emphasizes ways of transmitting reality through deeper emotional means rather than just depicting reality as it superficially appears.

How do you perceive the human form?

The human form to me is a representation of our inner workings. It’s pure emotionality. But it’s a difficult process to undertake, since we are so accustomed to the figure through sculpture, dance, painting and now photography. You have to work to create forms that have never been seen before, otherwise you can get caught up in the connotations of forms of the past.

Explain your relationship to color!

Color is emotionality. We react to it instinctually without the need to think about why it is meaningful to us. So I employ it to draw in the viewer.

“Color is emotionality.”

Your images are very dream-like. How do you feel about reality?

Digital technology has made it so easy to represent reality, as it seemingly materializes. There’s certainly no point in repeating anyone else. So I focus on reinventing reality through color and other in-camera methods. Our inner psychological terrain is richer and more complex than the superficial appearance.

Who are your favorite artists? What have you learned from them?

Painters from freed the constraints of representing reality are my favorites. Specifically, Francis Bacon. He employed color as a balance to gruesome figures and portraits. I try to take the longview in terms of creating work. You have to be prepared to spend decades refining your ideas and craft.

“You have to be prepared to spend decades refining your ideas and craft.”

How do you maintain a creative freedom when shooting commercial work for other brands?

The more clearly you define yourself in here, the easier it becomes to keep your creative freedom out there. So when clients come to me, they understand that I execute a particular vision. And the process works best when our aims overlap.

Where do you see your photography evolving to?

I see my work becoming more and more refined. Even weirder, more like paintings I’d like to see but haven’t been created.

What advice would you give to other photographers who would like to get their work seen?

I’d advise young artists to know yourself deeply, then understand your place in the historical canon of art. And then share your work in places where your better elders have had their praises sung.

At last, how do you see the future of photography?

I fear that photography will be overtaken by digital renderings and artificial intelligence. The robots will rise and creativity will be replaced by algorithms.

“The robots will rise and creativity will be replaced by algorithms.”

To see more of Maciek’s beautiful work, make sure to follow along on his Instagram feed or visit his website.