‘Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.’ C. Jung
In this series of self-portraits, I construct internal landscapes in which reality dissolves into symbolism and the subconscious emerges as a physical space.
The ammonite, which recurs throughout the series, isn’t a symbol I chose for its aesthetics or mythology. It’s something I’ve carried for years: the feeling of moving in circles and encountering the same pain repeatedly. It became the closest visual expression of how trauma persists through repetition.
As the series unfolds, it shifts from a symbol of entrapment to a structure of transformation. Drawing on the idea of the shadow self, the series suggests that psychological change comes not from avoiding darkness, but from confronting and accepting it.
amateur category
Spiral (Series)
DESCRIPTION
AUTHOR
Katarina Bienek is a self-taught Polish fine art photographer working primarily with conceptual self-portraiture. Her images combine staged photography and digital compositing to construct surreal visual narratives.
More works can be found at: katarinabienek.com
More works can be found at: katarinabienek.com
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