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Lena Kuzmich (1998) investigates the absurdity of our visual landscape; a constant stream of the most wide-ranging images, all compressed into a single visual layer. Kuzmich wants to dissect how these images, and the specific technology behind them, generate meaning, influence knowledge systems, and ultimately shape our sense of reality. In this process they are influenced by various concepts, including hauntology, more specifically the author Mark Fischer’s interpretation of it. Fischer claimed that we are all constantly haunted by images from the past, as it were, and that these ghostlike images stand in the way of developing a new vision for the future.
For their installation Ghostly Images Behind Closed Eyelids (2025), Kuzmich was inspired by theatrical sets, which are already illusions by definition. The walls have been covered in a collage composed of found materials: from archival images, google images, and drawings to scientific charts. Together they make up a multifaceted visual story that can be read on various levels. At the same time, the holograms, lenticular prints, and moving images hanging over it play with the concept of fleeting delusions. While Kuzmich invites visitors to discover new connections, they also seem to be wondering whether we as human beings are even properly equipped to relate to this abundance of images. Kuzmich’s installation is an attempt to get to grips with how images, and the relationship between different images, affect our knowledge. It is an urgent question in an age where the relationship between image and reality is constantly under pressure.
Text: Esther Darley
Translated from Dutch by Marie Louise Schoondergang (The Art of Translation)