Zofia RYDET (1911-1997)

Extermination from the World of Feelings and Imagination series

1975-1979
photomontage, gelatin silver print, 18 x 23.6 cm,
artist`s stamp and stamp reading ŚWIAT UCZUĆ I WYOBRAŹNI on the reverse,
vintage print

The photomontage presented here is one of the most recognisable of Rydet`s works. Explaining the inspiration for her series Rydet said: "(...) it depicts humans in a precarious state from their birth - their obsessions, feelings, loneliness, desires and anxiety, for which there is no salvation but through love. It is a story about the tragedy of passing, fear of annihilation and destruction".
The work has been reproduced and shown at many solo and group exhibitions, notably Zofia Rydet. Photographs, Museum of Art, Łódź (1999), National Museum in Wrocław (2000); Zofia Rydet: The First Lady of Polish Photography, Fotogalerie Kistemaker, Oldenzaal, the Netherlands (2007); Zofia Rydet. The Arc of Realism, Photoireland Festival, Centre for Creative Practices, Dublin (2011).