A Darkened Museum

The theme of darkness is not alien to his work, but here there is special significance to the absence of light in the Museum’s spaces and the darkening of objects that are normally viewed in a brightly lit setting. The series offers a nuanced encounter between Tchetchik’s personal photography and documentary work, which is politically and socially discursive. The darkening not only runs counter to the day-to-day activity of the Museum, which views the display of art to the public as a core part of its mission, but also counteracts the very act of photography, which is nourished by light. The light emerging from the darkness — both metaphorically and physically — speaks to Tchetchik’s assertion that “Visual expression is of great importance — always, and even more so at the present moment.”