Tales

Tales is the first book by Magda Kuca comprising a decade’s worth of work concerned with Eastern European identity and storytelling, examining the relationship between the supernatural and folklore. By working hands-on with historic photographic processes such as wet collodion, Kuca’s work explores narratives around the craft and materiality of the photographic medium.

The book invites the viewer to slow down and embark on a journey through the author's family history by incorporating portraiture of her grandmother juxtaposed with customs and traditions long forgotten.

Hand printed and hand bound by Lee Elkins, Tales stands as a poignant and intimate dialogue with the modern era's relentless surge of visual content, reminiscent of the slow photography movement. Kuca's dedication to traditional methods invites readers to take a step back and reflect on one's heritage.

The pictures threaded throughout this book weave strange and heartfelt tales. They are like visual fables, in which the world of humans, animals, plants and objects meet in a space where time is porous and suspended. The notion of fables seems appropriate here, for they are an enduring form of folk-story transmitted across time, through voices and memory, songs and rituals.

• Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photography V&A

To find out more visit the artist’s website.

Magda Kuca is part of »Guest Room: Varun Gupta & Arpan Mukherjee«.

Check out her Artist Feature “The Grandmothers”.