Exhibit8 Gallery in Limassol organizes the solo photography exhibition of Danila Parniouk, “Present Continuous: A Diary of Mental Relocation”. The internationally acclaimed photographer creates a visual essay about the process of becoming intimate with a place.
The photographs reflect not only the visual diversity of the island of Cyprus, but also moments of self-analysis, meditation, and contemplation. At the same time, each image is a moment of eternal “now” inviting the viewer to contemplate time as an uninterrupted flow of experiences that shapes subjective consciousness and perception of the world.
The opening event will be held on Friday, 6 October 2023, at 19.30 in the presence of the artist and the exhibition will last till the 4th of November.
Danila Parniouk is a photographer of Belarus origin, notable for his impressively keen eye and flawless photographer’s instinct, uncommon artistic vision and, above all, unique ability to transfigure commonplace things and ordinary people into perfect visual icons. The artist has a rich photographic experience that expands to a plethora of different countries and cultures; the USA and Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, India, Nepal, Peru, Bolivia, Turkey and Thailand are some of the places that he has captured with his photographic lens.
He’s taken part in more than 50 photographic shows in Belarus, Russia, Germany and Spain. His prints belong to the permanent collections of the Russian State Center for Photography (Rosfoto) in St. Petersburg and the National Art Museum in Minsk, as well as to private collections throughout Europe, the United States and Canada.
He became the winner of the Barcelona International Photography Award BIPA 2018.
Balancing between the acts of confession and introspection, Danila Parniouk assembles the unexpected tale of a recent relocation:
“Exactly one year ago, I moved to Cyprus from Spain (Barcelona, Catalonia), where I had spent the past decade. All my attempts to grasp a verbal description of Cyprus, and its unique qualities, left me without a clear understanding. It was akin to trying to explain the complex concept of the present continuous tense in English grammar, which involves many rules, sequences, and exceptions that, from my perspective, can be challenging, if not impossible, to comprehend without experiencing it firsthand.
Much like how language nuances are best understood within a linguistic environment, I decided to embark on my personal exploration of Cyprus through immersion in the country, its visual atmosphere, and, much like a newborn with no preconceptions about the world it enters, transform a blank canvas into a vibrant tapestry of life.”
The showcased photographs cannot be considered as a mere exploration of the beauty of the Cypriot landscape; they unveil the artist’s inner world, his perception of time and its flow; they serve as a kind of ‘diary of mental relocation,’ suspended in the air like slow-motion footage, allowing us to witness moments that might otherwise slip through our attention. Present Continuous: a diary of mental relocation is an examination of time as a process. It’s a time that began with the artist’s -author’s move to the island and continues indefinitely, without a specific endpoint. It’s time as a stream of consciousness, where each frame reflects the continuous movement towards new impressions and emotions.
Through this series of photographs, Danila Parniouk invites the viewer to a dialogue about the mental transition from one reality (visual, cultural, symbolic, and eventful) to another – a new and uncharted one.
Duration: 6 October– 4 November 2023
Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 – 23:00/ Saturday: 12.00 – 23:00
Private viewings are available upon request.
Exhibit8 Gallery: Hatziloizi Mihailidi 21, Katholiki, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus
Information: www.exhibit8.com.cy, Instagram: exhibit8gallery, facebook: @exhibit8art, tel: +357 25 21 21 71