There is something in Magda Kuca’s photographs that refuses to settle. They are slow, ritual, and otherworldly. Utilising historical photographic techniques such as wet plate collodion, gum bichromate and platinum print, her images carry the weight of things that have been handled, waited for, coaxed into being. And yet they don’t belong to the past, but rather occupy a place in time that is not quite then and not quite now. 

“I don’t use historical processes to cosplay the past,” she explains, “For me, these techniques are alive. They are tools – like brushes in a creative toolkit – and they come with their own character.” She describes wet-plate collodion as a kind of collaborator “It has a presence. It’s like working with a partner. You might begin with a clear idea, but you meet somewhere in the middle, because the process pushes back.”

Kuca’s work has drawn international attention and led to collaborations and exhibitions at institutions including the British Museum, University of the Arts London, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Aperture Gallery, and Photo Vogue, to name just a few. Alongside her practice, she mentors widely, sharing knowledge of rare photographic techniques. As she puts it, the most meaningful way to preserve them is by “using them, teaching them, and allowing them to evolve.”

To read the full article, go to the page: https://www.polishfashionstories.com/we-love-1/2026/the-weight-of-an-image-magda-kuca