Elzbieta (Ela) Kurowska
Ela is a photographer and a biochemist, based in London ON. Her photography utilizes her science background to explore the overpowering forces that compel natural world to develop living organisms from the amorphous organic matter. This body of work is created by employing novel materials; soft, translucent organic gels with unique optical properties and by implementing photo elasticity; a long abandoned visualization technique from the field of materials engineering.
Gels are physically manipulated to produce life-resembling forms. These structures are then subjected to mechanical deformation and photographed between two polarizing filters. In the polarized light, the translucent shapes undergo a spectacular transformation; all stressed areas of the gel material burst with light and vivid colours resulting in images of otherworldly life forms made out of light – Light Forms.
Gels are physically manipulated to produce life-resembling forms. These structures are then subjected to mechanical deformation and photographed between two polarizing filters. In the polarized light, the translucent shapes undergo a spectacular transformation; all stressed areas of the gel material burst with light and vivid colours resulting in images of otherworldly life forms made out of light – Light Forms.