Marko Lipuš
Ripped Sketches
As his starting point Lipuš often takes the negatives of photographs he shot himself, which he then uses as raw material for various manipulations. These are then subjected to colouring, scratching, cutting and used for assembling collages. By altering the realistic depictions of the initial shots, he detracts from the naturalistic qualities inherent to photography itself.
The continuation of Marko Lipuš’s artistic method, known for his interventions into the materiality of photographs, either on the level of a negative or positive, is also present in his Ripped Sketches series. In this series Lipuš intervenes in the already laminated positives/photography prints, and with it develops the representational possibilities of individual works further. By interfering in the surface and the materiality of his photographs, the author achieves the transformation of the photographic image both on the inner and outer level of the works. The initial footage, whether in the form of a negative or a positive, is thus rendered non-existent in its previously intended form. The original photographs which offer us the framework of images depict surreal landscapes and horizons become formally unreadable and entirely abstracted throughout the process. By ripping and scratching Lipuš introduces an illustrative dimension into the composition of what is depicted, the end product being dynamic and entirely expressive works.
