Longin Sarnecki has worked as a photojournalist and as a publisher but there is nothing journalistic about the photographic images appearing in his current exhibition entitled Painted Earth.  His images are chosen from the natural environment, but by using extension rings and specially treated filters, he captures and presents something far beyond the everyday world of plants and pebbles.

The overall impression is one of images rich in light, colour, drama and movement, complemented by titles that are whimsical and playful. Jackson Pollock's Fruit Platter consists of luminous red and green splashes exploding across a dark background.  Medieval Tower shows a plant form shooting upwards with alternating light and dark circles spiralling around it.  The Quiver presents another plant form surging upwards and outwards against a darkened background.

In this exhibition, Longin Sarnecki is pushing aside the boundaries between photography and painting.  His titles and his compositions frequently refer to well known artists and artworks, and he uses his camera in such a way as to magnify and abstract natural objects into unexpected and exciting forms.

The poet Mallarme believed that the enjoyment of a poem was in "guessing little by little" the multiple meanings which had been concealed within the words by the poet.  He believed that in this way the poet and the reader together could "bring into existence something which had not existed before".  Careful 'reading' of these photographs and guessing at their meanings will reward the viewer with just such a feeling of experiencing something new, something which has not 'existed' before.

Much of what is concealed within these forms has to do with the delicate relationship between human beings and the natural environment.  There is a suggestion of joyful harmony, but their fragile beauty also suggests how easily they can be damaged and lost forever.