About The Exhibition
Belfast Exposed is delighted to announce the winner of the 2018 Belfast Exposed Graduate Award, Mike Bors. Mike is a Polish photographer based in Ireland, and recently graduated from the MFA Photography programme at the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University. His practice is primarily autobiographical, working with family albums, video, collage, and notebooks to explore notions of separation, breakdown of family bonds, displacement and death.
‘On Family Album’ is a solo exhibition comprised of a photographic installation ‘Bors Family Archive’, a video piece ‘In My Blood part 1’ and sketchbook collages.
“Looking at my family’s album, after years of isolation and detachment from the family, was like looking at a distant past. Looking at the memories encapsulated in photographs was almost like looking into an unknown past even through it pictures me, my childhood, my family. I’ve searched the archive, the only autobiographical evidence my mother left behind, consisting over 100 rolls of negatives and over 100 prints spanning 40+ years of her life but the keeper of the album was dead. There was no insight, there was no story telling. Part of the history and memory of the family was gone. The only person that could possibly have an insight into it was my estranged father…
This show is an attempt to visually reconstruct the feeling of being overwhelmed and lost in the family archive; question the truth of family albums; think about what happens when part of the history dies with the album keeper; visualise the struggle to regain and recover lost knowledge.” - Mike Bors, 2018
“Mike Bors’ exhibition is a beautiful and multi-layered response to his experiences of family life. The subject and artworks are something that we can connect with, through our own memories and familiarities. There was a highly competitive response to the graduate competition, as an emerging artist, Bors was selected as his work is of an excellent standard and it is both challenging and thought provoking. It makes the audience ask questions and seek answers to family life and cultural differences. I would encourage people to come visit the exhibition and guarantee they will find some narrative within their own personal experience.” - Deirdre Robb, CEO, Belfast Exposed
The Artists
Mike Bors
Mike Bors is a Polish photographer and visual artist currently based in Ireland. His work is mostly autobiographical and uses images from the family album and newly made photographs. Mike’s practice uses personal narratives to speak about broader social issues. Through video pieces, collages and a series of notebooks, this ongoing investigation into family album explores the themes of family, identity and memory. The notebooks, reminiscent of minimalist scrapbooks, and the video installation create a psychological landscape of multiple experiences of separation, breakdown of family bonds, displacement and death. Mike recently graduated from Ulster University gaining an MFA in Photography.
Events
Thursday 4 October | 5-9pm | Belfast Exposed
Free AdmissionAcknowledgements
On Family Album at Belfast Exposed is generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.