Unveiling the Dark Side: Outer Space Press's Subversive Photography

Magdalena Wysocka and Claudio Pogo, the creative duo behind Outer Space Press, have been pushing the boundaries of photography since 2016. Their latest book, And Then There Was the Night, is a testament to their fascination with the dark and unknown. The book is a culmination of their findings, which began with a series of handmade zines featuring consecutive photographs of a 1920s French porn film.

The Inspiration Behind the Book The zines, which were sold online alongside household equipment and car tires, sparked Wysocka and Pogo's interest in the mysterious and often disturbing world of occultism and pornography. As they delved deeper into the subject, they discovered the name of the film, Der Chef und die Sekretärinnen, and its connection to an aristocratic 15th-century chivalric order that inspired Vlad the Impaler's father to take the name 'Dracul'. This led them to explore the world of vampires, both fictional and real, and the darker aspects of human desire.

The Art of Subversion Wysocka and Pogo's approach to photography is unapologetically subversive, challenging the conventional norms of the medium. They embrace mistakes and imperfections, using a risograph to print their images, which adds a tactile quality to the book. The physical experience of reading And Then There Was the Night is intentional, with the light-sensitive paper and rough ink inviting the reader to engage with the content on a deeper level.

Exploring the Taboo The book is a journey into the unknown, exploring the intersection of sex, death, and the occult. Wysocka and Pogo's use of found photographs, including images from a quasi-scientific Image Encyclopaedia of Sexuality, adds to the sense of unease and fascination. The inclusion of documentation of individuals ritually killed as vampires in Poland and the reproduction of a catalogue of lavish coffins from the 1900s further blurs the lines between reality and fiction.

The result is a book that is both a physical and emotional experience, challenging the reader to confront their own desires and fears. As Wysocka and Pogo point out, pornography is a huge area of photography that is often written out of respectable narratives. Their work as Outer Space Press is a testament to the power of photography to explore the untold and ignored, and to challenge our perceptions of what is acceptable and what is not.