Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Belgium/Spain
2024
Truth is Stranger than Fiction explores the notions of truth, lie and propaganda during the Cold War.
Masha Wysocka has worked with two archives held by the Blinken Open Society Archives (Budapest, Hungary). The first is made up of “field reports” from the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty research institute. These reports were collected through interviews with Hungarians or people with access to Hungary in the 1950s. The second archive collection consists of amateur photographs from the 1980s. These images had initially been censored by the state-owned photographic laboratory (Főfotó) for technical or political reasons.
By putting these two collections into perspective, the photographer seeks to question the illustrative function we assign to photography. She also highlights the ambiguity of the fictional relationship between images and texts.
With the support of Wallonie-Bruxelles International
and the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles (CWB), Paris – Hors-Les-Murs Constellations
Portfolio
About the artist
Born to a Polish family in the USSR, in 1984, Masha Wysocka lives and works in several countries in Europe. She is a graduate of Sciences Po Strasbourg and holds a master’s in photojournalism and documentary photography from the London College of Communication (UAL). Her work lies at the crossroads of history, literature and science.