Seb Janiak

About

Seb Janiak is a photographic artist whose work explores conditions in which opposites can co-exist, revealing the visual characteristics of the hidden forces that shape the physical universe. He creates images that blend science with creativity, analytics with the poetic. He lives and works in Paris, France. Education Janiak began his career as a graphic designer. While freelancing, he engaged with state-of-the-art technology, becoming a pioneer in the field of digital photography. His work gained him global attention, and he expanded into music video directing, fashion photography, and finally into fine art. Since 2011, he has focused on expanding the potential of contemporary analogue photography. Technique Since 2011, Janiak has only used basic photographic tools. He says, “I only allow myself the techniques which have been used in analogue photography since 1850. Namely, making adjustments to contrast and exposure, and using superimposition.” When a special effect is needed in order to achieve a particular shot, he finds a way to achieve it manually rather than through digital manipulation, for example by using refraction (a prism) or reflectivity (a mirror). The fantastical images he produces seem impossible, but they are in fact pictures of the physical world that surrounds us at all times. Inspiration Janiak is interested in duality and the unseen forces that inhabit the space between what we perceive of as imaginative and as scientific. His work thus serves as a photographic bridge between data and creativity. In fact, he believes there is no separation between science and art—the apparent dichotomy is only a way of conceptualizing the multiple simultaneous states of being at work in the visible universe. Whether his inspiration comes from a philosophical inquiry, a spiritual question, or a revelation about the nature of physics, in the end he circles back to all three areas of thought, using one as a departure point, but in the process capturing what is bea