AGNIESZKA RAYSS // Postcard n. 1, 2024

 
Archivo LAB 2024 
Limited Print Edition
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AGNIESZKA RAYSS
Postcard n. 1, From the series Postcards from the War
 
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Inkjet print on 100% Cotton Rag Fine Art Paper
From an edition of 50, numbered on the reverse
Image size: 18 x 24 cm
Paper size: 24 x 30 cm
Unframed
 
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This print edition was produced in 2024 as part of ARCHIVO’s competitive visual arts program Archivo LAB, and it is one of 50 prints in this limited edition. Proceeds from the purchase of this print will help fund future Archivo LAB programs, supporting emerging artists and innovative visual arts projects.
 
 
About this work
 
"Postcards from The War" is marked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The influx of images on social media during this period captured real war scenes just 200 km from the artist's hometown. These images, primarily taken by civilians, included dramatic scenes of destruction, military movements, and the human cost of war. Private photography during the war thus becomes crucial, serving as both a memory frame and evidence of the conflict. The screenshots, while visually compelling and reminiscent of war movie stills, are unsettling due to their real-life context.​ "Postcards from The War" is a poignant combination of these propaganda postcards with contemporary war photography. This juxtaposition highlights both the ideological source and the grim reality resulting from imperialistic pursuits.
 
 
About Agnieszka Rayss
 
Agnieszka Rayss is a photographer, lecturer, and curator. She is a co-founder of the Sputnik Photos collective. She graduated in art history from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, and now lectures at the School of Form at SWPS University in Warsaw. She is interested in topics related to myths, history and its reinterpretation, and the post-Soviet heritage of Central and Eastern Europe. Her early works were devoted to pop culture manifestations of transformation.
 
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Archivo LAB 2024, themed "Archivo and Conflict", delved into the relationship between photography, the archive and conflict across different temporalities. Throughout the LAB programme, mentored by curator Helen Starr, artists explored the materialities and immaterialities of archival production within the digital age in regard to contemporary critical appropriations concerned with different perspectives on conflict, as well as history’s repressed events and violations.