Maciek Stępniewski is a Polish audiovisual artist and writer with an acute interest in conceptual imagery, textured multi-layering, and nature photography.
In his work, he dedicates time to deep exploration, grounding his approach in spontaneity, fortuitous angles, and, at times, an aesthetic melancholy.
The choice to present his works through black-and-white techniques and a dynamic use of light, shadow, and negative space allows the artist to delve deeper into the meaning and metaphors behind his well-structured compositions. The mountain, the sea, and the vegetation are all elements of central importance. More than that, they represent godly, sentient creations that live and breathe; they are not merely occupying space.
The sea can be “merciful,” and the mountain can be “long-suffering,” but they all share something in common in their sentient existence: they embrace solitude.
The featured project titled ‘Come, As You Are,’ depicting landscapes from the Fuerteventura island, is a meditation on “the most abstract and existential themes: courage, cosmos, and death.” Stępniewski admits that such exercise was not an easy task, even in the remote parts of the island “where the rawness of the desert and the ocean seems to always be countered with the comfort and pleasantness of tourism.”
Yet, he truly succeeds in portraying a pensive state of absorbing the quiet and calm of wilderness. The images are carefully framed and collected, emphasizing the vastness of the landscape and creating pleasing symmetry without the impression of forced perfectionism. The restrained and minimalistic approach lets the photographs “breathe” and invites an equally relaxed approach from the viewers; just come as you are and enjoy the album.
Read our “Roots” issue in full
The new theme, born as usual from what the submitted works held in common, is “ROOTS.” Within its pages, we present the artworks, creativity, and inspiration of 60 visual artists and writers from 21 countries around the world. Their diverse voices come together around a shared exploration of the return to where one belongs, the invisible threads of tradition that shape identity, and the ongoing reconnection with nature, others, and oneself.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
