Kai Wasikowski creates tiny and beautiful worlds, like opening an oyster and realizing there is a pearl inside. His photographs are at once composed and spontaneous, tiny little glimpses into a prepared scene or fraction of a second.

Wasikowksi's photos range from beautiful, still portraiture capturing Detroit in dilapidation to perfectly composed subjects– both people and otherwise. It almost feels like Wasikowski has a film playing in his head, and in an attempt to capture it in stills, he takes photos.

In 'Handscapes', little scenes of rocky mountains, beautiful waterfalls, clouds and deserts are projected onto a hand, with plastic dolphins and cheeky butterflies surrounding. The use of this obviously composed and staged setup creates this double reality: the plastic toys become believable despite their obvious fakeness, the little projections become real scenery. Wasikowski's latest series 'Spent Pleasure' is a response to cognitive dissonance, an exploration of our apathy towards consumer choices, sex, and everything else. Objects like used Fuji water bottles, Splice wrappers and Esprit ads are juxtaposed with human semen.

How much do we care about these actions? How far can we go with commodity fetishism before everything supposedly “sacred” becomes trash? Wasikowski’s photographs are whimsical and poignant, he invites you to look again, to see what other meanings could be held in his self-contained universes.

http://www.kaiwasikowski.com/

Words/ Ruby Giles
http://www.kaiwasikowski.com/

Words/ Ruby Giles