Katarina Bienek

The award-winning work draws upon Jungian theory, particularly the idea that psychological change can begin when we turn inward and confront the shadow — the hidden and often painful aspects of ourselves.

The ammonite I used as a recurring symbol throughout the series fascinated me because of its spiral form, which reflects the way we revisit the same wounds again and again until we are ready to face them. Transformation is also a recurring theme throughout my photographic work, and I’m interested in how difficult experiences can become a starting point for change.

Winning this award makes me feel that my work is being seen and that I am gaining recognition as an artist. It gives me a lot of encouragement and motivates me to keep developing my work.

I usually submit my work when I feel I have a cohesive series with a strong concept and a clear visual direction. For me, it’s important that the photographs clearly represent my artistic voice and leave room for interpretation.

I had always been very interested in art, but for years I was mainly a viewer. I studied Cultural Studies and spent a lot of time looking at and interpreting other people's work.

At some point, being surrounded by artists made me realise that I didn’t just want to admire what other people were creating. I wanted to create something myself.

There was even a certain sense of jealousy — I envied people who had found a way to express themselves through art.

Photography became the medium that allowed me to make that transition. At first, I was interested in capturing what I saw, but quite quickly I realised that I wanted to construct images rather than simply record reality.

My favourite type of photography is conceptual and staged photography, especially when I can combine it with digital compositing. I love the freedom it gives me to construct a scene from different elements and turn an idea that exists only in my imagination into something tangible.

I’m particularly interested in using familiar objects, symbols, and environments in unexpected ways to create images that feel both surreal and emotionally believable.

I don’t really have a go-to camera setup. It depends on the project and what I’m trying to create. Since my work often involves staging and digital compositing, I’m more focused on getting the right light, composition, and details in camera than on using a particular setup.

For me, the equipment is secondary to the idea I’m trying to bring to life. The technical choices simply need to serve the image and the story behind it.

I don’t want to dictate a specific emotion, but I hope my images create a sense of reflection and curiosity. I want my work to feel poetic and introspective, perhaps a little unsettling. If an image makes someone pause and look a little deeper, then I feel like it’s working.

Since the winning work is a series of photomanipulations, the biggest challenge for me was making the imagined scenes feel believable despite the surrealism. At the same time, I had to think about the series as a whole and make sure that every photograph had a purpose and added something to the story I was trying to tell, rather than simply standing on its own.

I’m particularly drawn to old, abandoned buildings, foggy landscapes, Gothic stories, and vintage objects. There is something about them that feels almost outside of time. They often carry a sense of history and mystery, as if they belong to another dimension. I find that atmosphere very inspiring when I’m developing new ideas and building the visual worlds for my images.

I’ve always been drawn to symbolic painting, especially 19th-century Romanticism and Symbolism. There is something deeply emotional and timeless in that work, and I wanted my photography to reflect a similar feeling.

When it comes to photographers, the work of Francesca Woodman, Laura Makabresku, and Brooke Shaden had a big impact on me. I admire the way their work creates imaginative and symbolic worlds.

I think participating in photography awards can be a valuable way to challenge yourself. When your work is recognised, it can help you gain visibility and give you a confidence boost for future projects.

My advice would be to submit something you genuinely believe in, something that represents you as an artist, not to create work simply because you think it will appeal to a jury.

I think the most important thing is to stay authentic. We live in a society where social media constantly pushes us toward what is popular or visually effective. Of course, it’s natural to be inspired by other artists, but the goal shouldn’t be to imitate them.

Give yourself time to discover what genuinely interests you, even if it doesn’t fit current trends. It’s about developing your own perspective and being honest about what you want to create.

It’s one of my favourite parts of the whole process, and also the most time-consuming. It’s the stage where everything comes together — where I integrate all the elements captured during different photoshoots, refine the colours and light, and build the final atmosphere of the image. Since I create composites, Photoshop is an essential part of my workflow and makes it possible for me to bring my ideas into the final image.

I think AI will definitely influence the future of photography, and I already see it as a useful tool, especially in programs like Photoshop. Features such as AI-assisted masking make compositing and post-processing much quicker and more efficient, which is particularly useful for my kind of work.

At the same time, I believe there is something irreplaceable about real photography — the human connection and experience behind the image. For me, there is a difference between something that is carefully created by an artist and something that can be generated instantly by typing a prompt. The person behind the work, as well as the process itself, gives the image a deeper meaning.

As AI makes it easier to produce content instantly, I think real photography will still be valued by people who appreciate individuality and a personal story in visual storytelling.

I don’t think I’m particularly drawn to photographing a specific person or place. What interests me more are the things that cannot be photographed directly — emotions, memories, psychological states, and experiences that exist only within us.

I would love to keep exploring different ways of translating these experiences into images. There is still so much to discover, and I’m excited to see where this exploration takes me.