Sarker Protick

Koenning and Protick practise photography independently and thousands of miles apart (Katrin Koenning, although born in Germany, is based in Australia, and Sarker Protick in Bangladesh), but they are able to work together on their images thanks to internet connectivity and the ability to send digital files.
Armed with their mobile phones as their preferred photographic tool, they document everyday life impulsively and almost obsessively, sometimes on their doorsteps, often far from home.
Their devices capture such familiar things as a puddle of water on the asphalt, a cloud of dust, a ray of light, which, through their gaze, are transformed into fascinating elements: imaginary creatures, the Milky Way, a phosphorescent silhouette like an elusive ghost.
Two voices that become one take us on this four-handed journey through unknown territory, between the everyday and the paranormal, between night and day. It is in the depths of the dark darkness that the light is revealed, dazzling and miraculous.
Their work Astres Noirs (black stars) appeared in book form, where digital photographs captured with a mobile phone, some of which had been published - uploaded - on Instagram, are printed in silver ink on deep black matte paper.
The images follow one another in square format, some separated by black pages - the negative of the usual white pages. There are images hidden between the pages bound together in Japanese-style binding. Visible images and hidden images. A contrast between the visible and the hidden, between light and darkness. A continuity between the two photographic works that function as an organic whole.

The images form a black mirror, an opaque screen that invites us to speculate on their meaning. Let us remember that the etymology of speculate means to observe the stars with the help of a mirror. These black stars where, through the lens and his eyes, bird droppings can become a universe, a brilliant cosmic display.