Attila-István Szántó is a Romanian-based photographic artist who creates his images entirely within the camera, working primarily with multiple-exposure techniques.
His work moves between nature, urban structures, and portraits of children and adults. These images are not documentary records, but layered visions — intersections of time, memory, and presence. Rather than capturing a single moment, they hold several moments at once, allowing forms to overlap, dissolve, and reappear.
Over time, a distinct way of seeing has emerged through this practice. The images gave rise to what the artist understands as a philosophy of touch — not as a theoretical system, but as something that grew directly from the act of making. It is shaped by natural light, by duration, by the human gaze, and by the material conditions of the world itself.
At the core of this approach lies a simple recognition: an image does not merely depict. It bears witness. A work of art is not completed afterward, but comes into being in the moment where seeing and touching happen simultaneously.
Alongside the images, the artist also works with text — not as explanation, and not as interpretation. These writings do not accompany the photographs, nor do they translate them into language. They exist as another form of presence, where perception, thought, and silence unfold through words.
Some reflections remain here, close to the images.
Other texts exist elsewhere, as autonomous works — meant to be entered, not referenced.
Curator Retractus
Thank you!