THE LONELY ASTRONAUT
Karen Jerzyk is a photographer with a distinct style that is part surrealism, part raw emotion. Her work is transcendent, moving us through space and time within haunting backdrops of a decaying dreamlike past. Jerzyk taps into the human fear of loneliness in her emotional landscapes. The mis-en-scene of her images are reminiscent of those filmmakers she admires, David Lynch and Tarkovsky.
Jerzyk is a photographer for our time. Her work taps into our existential panic of being alone. The astronaut does not feel like the hero in these images but rather a sole survivor of all things lost to us. We asked her how it all started.
THE LAB MAG Tell us about your childhood, were you a stargazer?
KAREN JERZYK I grew up in the 80s, which had a profound effect on me my whole life and up to the present. I was an only child and oftentimes very lonely - I felt alienated a lot and didn't quite feel like I belonged. I turned to 80s pop culture- music, books, and more importantly movies. I was always drawn to the fantasy/scifi movies: Goonies, ET, Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Edward Scissorhands, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, etc etc. Back then, these films sort of solidified my ideal that there was something else out there; that there were adventures and magic to discover.
My childhood house (that I still live in) was on top of an elevated part on the outskirts of my city. When I was very young, I remember just standing in my yard and looking out at the view and wondering how far I could see. I always wondered what was "beyond". I always felt the need and had the desire to travel further than my eyes could see. Looking up at the sky was no different. Everything above our heads fascinated me, and to this day I still can't fathom it. I think people forget that all one has to do is look up to see a world of magic - a world yet to be comprehended but easily appreciated. I knew to never let go of that feeling - of being a dreamer. Of looking up to the sky and feeling the same magic I felt when I was a kid. I think it's important to never lose that.
The Lonely Astronaut - Astrofouraces 7 by Karen Jerzyk
LAB What first attracted you to the astronaut and why?
KJ I've always been somewhat of a sci-fi nerd, and I've always been interested in exploration on any level. I'm also obsessed with the state of the world and how it seems like humans are just ritualistically destroying this planet. I do a lot of my photography work in abandoned locations and it's crazy to enter a home that looks like a time capsule. I always wonder: What happened? Who lived here? Who were these people? Why did they leave? Why are all their belongings still here? One day, while exploring an abandoned house, I asked myself these very same questions and had sort of an epiphany: what if one day earth was uninhabitable by humanity's own doing, and everyone had to leave earth? What if we successfully had to colonize another planet and abandon our "old home"? It was essentially a "grand-scale" version of what I was currently doing- looking at a frozen-in-time period of humanity that no longer existed. I thought to myself "what if someone, one day, decided to explore an abandoned earth to discover how people used to live?"
From there I realized how important the astronaut character was to people. The anonymity created a connection with people because anyone could picture themselves as the explorer. Because it's important to me that others connect with my work, I was elated to discover that so many could sympathize and relate with the astronaut character that I had created.
The Lonely Astronaut - Astrofouraces by Karen Jerzyk
LAB If you could go into space would you? Who would you take with you and why?
KJ I absolutely would - that's probably my #1 wish if I were ever lucky enough to be granted one. As for who I would bring - that's a tough one. I feel as if I wouldn't necessarily choose someone I know, but someone who has a giant presence in the world that would benefit from the impact of such an opportunity, and therefore hopefully impact the world in a positive way because of their experience.
The Lonely Astronaut - Astrolondonderry by Karen Jerzyk
LAB How did you become an artist? Can you talk about your creative process, a day in your life?
KJ I've been creative for as long as I can remember. I always loved pretending and creating scenarios- I guess it started with the typical "kid playing with their toys" and then I always held on to that "practice". I feel that, unfortunately, most people lost the ability to freely imagine. I noticed as I got older that a lot of my friends were quickly "dropping off". It was depressing to me. Friends who created in all sorts of ways would give it up to join what I call "The American Roadmap". Growing up seems to go hand-in-hand with "stop dreaming" and "you need to get ready for the real world". There's lots and lots of scare tactics that I see people cower to. I was never interested in that. Growing up, I made sure to always stay curious and to not cave into these ideals. I would dabble in different art forms, and although my interests in some would come and go, I knew it was important to keep creating and to find what it was that I was passionate about. I was also very critical of myself, which I think is important. If I found that one form of art didn't feel right, that it was important to move on to get closer to discovering what DID feel right.
When I was 12, one of my friends "borrowed" his stepfather's VHS camcorder (I'm pretty sure we absolutely were not supposed to be using it). This was the early/mid 90s when camcorders weighed about 30 pounds and could barely be held. The camcorder had what we thought was revolutionary technology at the time: a one second recording interval. This allowed us to do extremely choppy stop animation. I was obsessed. We made dozens and dozens of short little movies. We would make copies of them by hooking the camera up to a VCR and the copies soon spread throughout our school. It was pretty wild. I miss those days. That's when I realized how magical it was to create all these little sets and characters, and I was trying to emulate all the films I loved so dearly. I always held onto that childlike DYI creation, it's sort of my trademark with the set building/character building that I do presently.
The Lonely Astronaut © Karen Jerzyk
In 2001 I started going to a lot of shows/concerts and started discovering all kinds of music (mostly underground metal/hardcore) and developed an interest in documenting these shows. I started taking pictures and from there developed a live music portfolio and was essentially a music photographer from about 2001-2011. I started yearning for more around 2009- I think internally I just felt like I needed more creativity with what I was doing. A fellow photographer friend asked me why I had never tried shooting portraits- to be honest, I'm socially awkward and the idea of meeting up with a stranger and "directing" them seemed like the worst thing for someone like me, but I sort of pushed through it and ended up giving it a shot.
It took me a while to get my "aesthetic voice". Being a self taught photographer comes with a lot of ignorance- mostly not knowing what questions to ask or where to look for inspiration. There was a lot of failure/trial and error for me for a few years. My father passed away unexpectedly in 2011 and it turned my world upside down. Ironically, and in a very bittersweet way, it shaped who I am as an artist today. I used creation as a tool to grieve and heal. When words couldn't do my feelings justice or I had no one to talk to, I could always turn to creating to get out what I had to say. As lot of people know, grief doesn't go away, especially from the loss of a loved one. The more I realized this, the more I found the importance of "what to do with the grief". Grief is like caring for a child. It always has to be watched and paid attention to, and sometimes even nurtured. It can't just be forgotten about or discarded without consequence. I learned how to live with my grief but more importantly, how to learn from it. I used it to my benefit in my work. I harnessed it and flipped it into something positive.
The Lonely Astronaut © Karen Jerzyk
My daily creative process is quite literally me asking myself "how am I going to control my mental health today by creating?" I have different plans that need to be assessed: is it a day of going out and doing, is it a day of planning/brainstorming, is it a day of starting or finishing something, or is it a day of learning? If I don't keep my mind busy, I start slipping into a place I don't want to be, and creating in any way each day is key to my own survival.
The Lonely Astronaut - Astrotomb7 by Karen Jerzyk
LAB What fires your passion for your projects?
KJ I love storytelling. I love creating. I love being able to reach people without saying a word. I love character building. I love surprising people. I love proving people wrong when they think I have nothing left in me. These are all ideals that I think of constantly that help me have such a drive to create characters and worlds. Communicating through visual creation is always my ultimate goal, and my preferred way of connecting with people. It's my life, it's how I socialize best, it's how I survive. It's almost like second nature to me, so the drive to create is ultimately because it's for my own personal survival. I could never stop.
LAB What or who is your greatest inspiration?
I get most of my inspiration from filmmakers. Some of my favorites are Kubrick, Speilberg, Anderson, Refn, Gilliam, Lynch, Burton, etc etc. Nowadays, I'm also inspired by anyone who thinks outside of the box that I can have a deep and meaningful conversation with, which is unfortunately few and far between. Anyone that dares to be different and keep dreaming and creating is very inspirational to me- this could even be a passing stranger that I have a short conversation with in the street.
LAB What excites you about the future?
KJ The prospect of meeting new people that I connect with, and as always, coming up with new ideas to create.
LAB If you could build a new future, what would it look like?
KJ It would be a place full of people who are curious, empathetic, honest and kind. A place where people listened instead of reacting in anger, where crucial and important conversations can be had with people understanding each other. I would love to be happy and feel free- free to create and free to travel. I would want my world to encompass the feeling of trust from others and to feel good about myself. I would love to feel free from mental and financial burdens.
The Lonely Astronaut © Karen Jerzyk
LAB What's the best advice you've ever been given and worst?
KJ Best: Always be curious.
Worst: Any time someone has tried to stray me away from what I truly feel was the right path for myself.
LAB What are your opinions of web3? What are your thoughts on web3 as a catalyst for future growth in art?
KJ I believe in Web 3, but I also believe that it has gone extremely sideways extremely quickly. Too much smoke and mirrors, influencers, and sketchy backchannel happenings. I feel like once this has all been weeded out that the people with the best intentions can continue to build through it and grow. I believe in the tech, and love the ability to add different elements and facets to my work with the opportunities and technologies that have presented themselves to me. It's exciting to think of all the possibilities, and I feel that the Web 3 space is a crucial place to be for any creative, company, and beyond.
LAB What motto do you live by?
KJ It may sound super cliche, but I always live by the motto "put yourself in someone else's shoes". I believe that empathy is one of the most important and sacred practices to live by, and that it is quickly becoming unlearned by humanity.
LAB How do you define success for yourself in the art world?
KJ At this point in my life, I feel as if success in the art world is simply being able to create every day without any limitations.
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THE LONELY ASTRONAUT
BY KAREN JERZYK
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