We travel to be happier

We travel to be happier
We travel to be happier
Anonim

Réka Kóti's exhibition, The Idea Of Flow, can be viewed at Brody Studios until the twenty-fifth of April (after pre-registration). According to the intention of the photographer, who works with analog technique, "he works on the search for happiness and the mystery of travel in the pictures and videos taken in London, Berlin, Paris and Athens". Known mainly for his fashion photos, Kóti emphasizes longing and inner human values, and will continue the series in Berlin in May.

Brody Studios is an ideal location for the exhibition
Brody Studios is an ideal location for the exhibition

In 2011, Réka Kóti created an image series for the Fashion Video Festival, photographed a campaign for Dórá Mojzes, and also created an album cover for Zagar - the band's founder, Balázs Zságer, also played music at the opening. Up until now, he mainly depicted natural and mysterious ideals of women in his pictures - which were also included in the current exhibition -, his photos never followed the current fashion or represented a specific ideal of women: natural and melancholic, they reflect thought-provoking and emotional content.

The photographer's current solo exhibition is based on the famous (and divisive) theory of flow by the Hungarian-born psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, according to which flow drives people towards fulfillment and happiness. "We feel the best when we are doing what we love, because then we forget about time and the energies flow endlessly. For me, photography means this almost trance state, I could do it endlessly, it always fills me with the same happiness," Kóti explained the concept of the exhibition to Dívány.

Image
Image

The photographer had been planning to come out with a similar series for a long time, as he travels a lot for his work, so there was no shortage of sources of inspiration."I owe the idea of the exhibition to the curator Kata Oltai, she encouraged me to communicate even more strongly my thinking and the human values behind the images. I consider it particularly important that my models capture not only the exterior, but also the interior, as this is the only way they can be an integral part of the creative process. I am primarily inspired by the person himself, I look for timeless characters, for me independence and naturalness are more important than appearance."

Kóti wants to draw attention to stereotypes arising from origin and skin color, as well as their negative consequences, with perhaps the most profound series so far, photographed exclusively with analog techinka. "I photographed many people on the road or emigrants, one of the most special for me is a Nigerian refugee, Manuel, whom I met in Switzerland. We spent quite a lot of time together, I shot the photo of him in a forest. Manuel, in his rawness and nakedness, represents everything that this I wanted to present it with a series of photos."

Manuel, the refugee boy from Nigeria, had a great influence on the photographer
Manuel, the refugee boy from Nigeria, had a great influence on the photographer

In the characteristic images of the photographer, who exhibited in Krakow, the Netherlands and London, thanks to the special analogue and lomograph technique, the face and figure are often not clear, but this is not the case, rather the powerful atmosphere, the artistic content discovered in everyday life is the essence. This is most noticeable in the campaign photos for Red Vatican - which can also be seen at the exhibition - because here the brand's designer entrusted Kóti with dark images in both mood and appearance.

It is no coincidence that the photographer is so connected to the cause of activists and emigrants: since his teenage years, he has been working for the volunteer organization Service Civil International, which promotes peace and democracy, at first as a volunteer, now in the position of organizer. Since he is connected with many refugee camps, he wants to make a portrait series about activists in the future, for which he has already photographed a Chinese girl in Paris and a Ukrainian girl in Athens. In May, Idea of Flow will also be on view in a contemporary gallery in Berlin for two weeks, so Hungarians living abroad are also worth a look.

The exhibition can be seen here until April 25, it is free, but prior registration is required - you can indicate your intention to visit on the exhibition's Facebook page by clicking here, and you can find Réka Kóti's official website here.

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