PHOTOGRAPHER LASZLO GABOR BELICZA
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
I became a photographer completely by coincidence. I actually wanted to pursue my artistic career as a painter, and had prepared a portfolio for my admission for the art department at the school I was applying for. At the interview they reviewed my work, and by chance I inserted several photographs that I took just a few days before. The reviewer said quite honestly, "Laszlo, you can't draw, but these photos are really good” and that was that. Painting remained in my life, but as a hobby. After graduating from university I was a museum photographer and also worked as a microscopic photographer. Recently I focus on my independent projects, and teach photography.
Some of my selected works can be found in the collections of the Rippl Rónai Museum, the Petőfi Literary Museum, the Herman Ottó Museum, the Kecskemét Museum of Photography and the Műcsarnok Budapest. I am currently photographing within the framework of a 3- year grant (2022-2025) from the Hungarian Academy of Arts.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences
There are so man talented photographers and inspiring photo projects - its really hard not to be extremely influenced by them all the time. I love artists that have a unique identity, and I’ve noticed that if I look too much at other’s work, I find myself unintentionally influenced by them in my own style. I really just want to be able to create a cohesive collection of my own. I am inspired by the films of Gus Van Sant, Larry Clark, Susanne Bier, Roman Polanski, and I could go on and on.
How are the current trends in technology and innovation affecting your work as a creative?
I worked on film roll for years, loved it, but after a while it became too much of a pain to develop films, and scanning was also lengthy. I was frustrated by the amount of raw material I had accumulated, I wanted to keep my ecological footprint as minimal as possible in this respect, and last but not least, negative film prices had risen quite dramatically. So, about two years ago, I replaced my film camera with a digital medium format.
My creative attitude is that I don't use post-production, I don't cut into the image, I click very little, and this can be very well practiced in film photography. This kind of approach gives you thoughtfulness and patience. Finding a balance between analogue vs digital s a constant struggle for me. Somewhere the soul of the image fades when it is digital.
Tell us about your creative process.
I like to tell stories, not only with the series, I want to have a deep content in each shot, whether it's a person, a still life or a landscape, the main thing is to be able to put my own emotions into the view. I create colour blocks that stand out. Light and shadow are structural and storytelling elements. I only shoot in natural light, I like the problem solving component of using light to get to the point. Overall, I try to make a photograph that tells as much of a story as possible in the moment.
I think the creation of a series is a long process, I don't plan an image or write a concept beforehand, rather my life stages dictate. For example, my first series of photographs is of my nephew, whose father died when he was 5. This tragedy shook my family, and everyone tried to alleviate their own grief, and I dealt with it by starting to take pictures, and that's how I started as a photographer.
I am very interested in exploring the topics and themes of self-sufficiency, farming, animal husbandry. So I
started to go undercover in a small village I had never seen before, in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges of Hungary, Börzsöny. I have been coming here for about a year and a half, to take photos, to a village called Kóspallag. I drift in, there is no preconceived plan, I go with the flow. I garden, cut wood, help out with all sorts of things, and sometimes take a few pictures along the way.
What do you think of the art world?
I don't have the ambition to exhibit all the time. The art scene is constantly changing, and that's fine, there are always new trends emerging, and I am not interested in these trends. The Hungarian art world today is very closed anyway, and it's difficult to get out of here into the international arena.
Anything coming up that we should know about?
I am planning a new trip for my “Postcards from the Sea” series, probably to Malta, and I will be leaving next month. I started this project about a year and a half ago, and so far, i’ve shot in Croatia, Sicily, and I would like to visit as many coastal places as possible. This series attempts to explore the common denominator of people living by the sea, focusing on the fact that water is an integral part of their lives and that this is what they adapt to. The reason why I love doing this is because I don’t have any expectations, it’s finally a series where I can take photos and just enjoy the process while collecting them. I am merging portraiture, still life and even street photography into one project. These are just „postcards” and I don’t need to think about what I should do differently. It is completely organic.
What does wellbeing mean to you?
In a photographer's career, you are on the road a lot. I love it and I struggle with it, because solitude teaches you patience. But being on the road is the best, talking to local people, going to new places, taking photos. Being present!
Anything else you’d like to share?
I'm an Aquarius, Aquarians are always said to be "just going after their own head", well that's probably true in many ways. I practice this in my art all the time, because I think it's especially important in art, don't be too influenced by trends, draw and live your impulses from your own life, and be inspired by it.
