The title of the newest exhibition by Jakub Tytykalo (born 1984) represents a small puzzle of meanings that contains within it all the relevant aspects of his most recent works as well as their manner of perception. First, it can be read as a compound of the words sand and lightbox, which uncovers both the principal source of inspiration and the central medium of the project, with which Jakub Tytykalo has expanded his visual range, generally rooted in painting. Even though painting is also present here, its role is now somewhat different, as it primarily introduces an installation conceived as a landscape.

 

    However, the term sandboxing also exists as a whole. In the world of video games, it refers to a type of game in which the player essentially sets their own rules and parameters of behaviour. The system limits only minimally, so the player’s character can change the environment at will and even choose what tasks to complete. The motifs on the illuminated photographs, on the edges of reality and abstraction, can also be interpreted freely; many associative chains can be appended to them. In this sense, they work as a true sandbox – a sandpit for the imagination.

 

    The partitioned gallery space, full of niches, skylights, openings, and elevations, serves as a foundation for the installation and an indelible component of the project. It is thanks to the space that one can visually vacillate not only with each painting or object, but also throughout the entire space, letting oneself be carried away by it freely. The fleeting, ephemeral paintings, the macro-perspective sand modelled by light, and the architectural dispositions of the space come together to create an unanswered space that has no past or future – a space in which one can spend time freely, perceiving without any limitations movement, silhouettes, feelings, lights, and shadows, which, with a little luck, can lead to one’s subconscious.