10-19 May | Kinoteka, Sala Gagarina
"Ex-Voto". Photography exhibition by Alys Tomlinson
"Ex-Voto" is the finale of Alys Tomlinson's five-year project focusing on Catholic sacred sites. The black-and-white photographs from Ireland, France and Poland interweave images of places of worship with portraits of pilgrims met on the road. Their austere aesthetic creates an atmosphere of tranquillity, spirituality and contemplation resulting from the calm observation of nature, the portrayed faces and places of remembrance.
The project's title, "Ex-Voto", refers to the physical offerings made by the worshippers as a token of gratitude or intention at pilgrimage sites. They are often simple objects, such as handmade wooden crosses, photographs or pages torn from notebooks. These small artefacts permeate the landscape, leaving traces of human presence.
In an extremely multi-layered way, "Ex-Voto" captures the essence of time. In the photographs, the past merges with the present and the traces left by the pilgrims are followed by successive generations, creating a linear continuity – the present becomes the past, and potentially eternity.
For her "Ex-Voto" exhibition, Alys Tomlinson received the 2018 Sony Photographer of the Year award.
During her work on the project, she met the nun who became the protagonist of the film “Mother Vera”. The film, directed by Alys Tomlinson and Cécile Embleton, is presented in the Main Competition of the 21st Millennium Docs Against Gravity.
