Pawel Bownik: Disassembly

Bownik’s “Disassembly” is an artist’s book in which a photographic project has been brought to the form of a non-standard picture album. The main role here is played by flowers, which the authors disassembles into parts using DIY tools and then reassembles in possibly unchanged form.

For deconstruction purposes Bownik uses glues, adhesive tapes, ropes, precisely measuring the distances between the leaves, noting them in pencil on the leaves themselves and photographing them. The resulting images, informed by the still-life tradition, perfectly imitate and evoke that which has been subjected to a destructive process. Hypnotizing the viewer with their deformed charm, they also create an uncomfortable sense of participating in a strange experiment. Beginning with the cover image and progressing through a series of collages and drawings, the book’s narrative culminates in the middle part and comes to a conclusion with a series of sketches.