Reykjavík Museum of Photography

The exhibition Melancholy by photographer Dominik Smialowski is based on a science-fictional narrative. It shows staged scenes with a pilot as a main character, lost and desperate after having crashed on foreign land. Although he knows his situation is hopeless he is looking for some kind of way out.

The work is visually compelling and tells a story that needs no text to narrate and guide. The viewer is transported deep into a fictional world which takes hold of his emotions.  The science fictional themes, as clearly seen through our protagonist and lone subject's elaborate costume that is reminiscent of many films with intergalactic exploration story lines,including Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. There are also great similarities to Duncan Jones' Moon, in which we follow a solitary character throughout the film. There is an inherent loneliness associated with this process of introducing only one subject on seemingly foreign lands. 


"At first, it isn't clear whether he has found another planet, seeking life forms similar to ours, or has returned to his home planet Earth to find that civilization has disappeared in his absence. Upon finding two freely roaming horses, one can assume the latter. There, one begins to wonder "What happened?" and "Where is everyone?" Like a man undergoing an existential crisis, we see the pilot lie on his back, staring up at the sky, curling into a fetal position, wandering aimlessly, and running frantically in desperate pursuit of some answers.  Ultimately, the pilot, too, disappears."

Text courtesy of  Pinar Noorata, My Modern Met. 


Dominik Smialowski, born 1981 in Warsaw, Poland.  Lives and works in in Warsaw. His adventure with photography started when he received Warsaw Film School scholarship.Awarded in various photographic competitons, he works as a photographer for many different companies. 

My girl, Joanna Pawłowska, helped me so much with creating Pilot's Melancholy. Without her, there would be no pilot.


Dominik Smialowski│Melancholy

"Melancholy" is the title of an exhibition by Dominik Smialowski in exhibition space Skotið.

Dominik Smia­lowski│Mel­an­choly

"Melancholy" is the title of an exhibition by Dominik Smialowski in exhibition space Skotið.

Dominik Smialowski│Melancholy