Contact: info@wmokrynski.com

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William Mokrynski is a visual artist whose practice centers on the exploration of vernacular photographic negatives, drawing from an ever-expanding personal archive that serves as both a repository of cultural memory and a catalyst for cross-cultural dialogue. His work investigates the negative as both a physical artifact and a conceptual framework to employ traditional silver-based techniques to reinterpret and excavate visual histories. Through this process, Mokrynski reveals photography’s dual role as a medium of documentation and a site of conceptual and material transformation.

Engaging with themes of memory, loss, and reinterpretation, Mokrynski’s practice invites viewers to reflect on the interplay between presence and absence, history and erasure, and the fluid boundaries between past, present, and future. Through montage, he interrogates how images shape collective memory, examining what is revealed—or concealed—when photographic materials are manipulated, reframed, or altered by time. His reworking of vernacular imagery unearths hidden narratives and cultural resonances, offering fresh perspectives on shared heritage.

Mokrynski’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Toronto International Art Fair, Kominek Gallery (Berlin), and Fotogalerie Wien (Vienna). He has received numerous awards and residencies, including the Lumen Studios International Residency, and his project Styrannya was nominated for the Star Photobook Dummy Award in 2024. Recently he attended the Reminders Photography Stronghold (Tokyo), Photobook as Object workshop conducted by Yumi Goto and Jan Rosseel.

Mokrynski holds an MFA in Photography from the Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, and studied Photography and New Media at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in Toronto. 

Born: Toronto, Canada  1969

Education:

• MFA in Photography – Edinburgh College of Art / University of Edinburgh – United Kingdom, 2010 – 2012
  
• New Media / Photovision – Ontario College of Art and Design – Canada, 1990 – 1994
  
• Visual Arts Major – Etobicoke School of the Arts – Toronto, 1985 – 1988
  

Exhibitions:

• Nearest Truth Editions – 23 Devoncrest Road, 1948, Kominek Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2023
  
• False Memory, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, Rugby, United Kingdom, 2020
  
• Integrity of the Focal Plane, Minories Galleries, Colchester, United Kingdom, 2020
  
• 36 Exposures, Fringe Festival of the Arts, Bath, United Kingdom, 2019
  
• Envisioning Other Worlds, RAW Labs – Bow Arts, London, United Kingdom, 2019
  
• THE STARS LOOK SO DIFFERENT TONIGHT – Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, Austria, 2019
  
• Remnants and Confessions – Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2018
  
• Red Light – Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2018  
  
• Process Festival – Galerija Micēlijs, Riga, Latvia, 2018
  
• Constellations  – Lumen Gallery, London, 2017
  
• La Fine dell’Universo, Lumen Residency Exhibition – The Crypt Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2016
  
• LUMEN mostra d’arte interdiciplinare – Chiesa San Francesco, Atina, Italy, 2016
  
• Photo Speaks 2016 : The 8th International Festival for Photography and Video – SangMyung University, Seoul, South Korea, 2016
  
• Construct / Destruct – Rough Print, London, United Kingdom, 2015
  
• FOTOSPACE Gallery, Glenrothes, United Kingdom, 2012
  
• Archifoto 2012 – Architecture without borders, La Chambre – Maison Européenne de l’Architecture, Strasbourg, France
  
• Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada, 2012
  
• Salon Nu – Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2012
  
• FOTONOVIEMBRE, XI Bienal Internacional de Fotografía de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, 2011
  
• Stenopeica, Mostre Documentarie 2011 – MUSINF, Senigallia, Italy, 2011
  
• Rollercoaster/Atmosphere Installation – InSpace, Edinburgh, 2010
  
• Foto Festival – Städtische Galerie Iserlohn, Germany, 2010
  
• Photographers : Network – Siegen, Germany, 2010
  
• 3rd Annual Juried Pinhole Camera Show – RayKo Gallery, San Fracisco, United States, 2010
  
• 4-4-4 – Centro Civic Can Basté de Barcelona, Spain, 2010
  
• 4-4-4 – Centre culturel André Malraux, Le Bourget, France, 2010
  
• Illusion, Transformation: Creating the Impossible – Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, 2009
  
• Toronto International Art Fair – Metro Toronto Convention Centre – Toronto, 2008
  
• Toronto International Art Fair – Metro Toronto Convention Centre – Toronto, 2007
  
• Fotofestiwal, International Festival of Photography – Łódź, Poland, 2007
  
• Movements in Still Time – Contact Photography Festival – Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, 2007
  
• Festival Foto&Photo – Cesano Maderno, Italy, 2006
  
• Doggie Doggie, Buffalo Buffalo – Contact Photography Festival – Lonsdale Gallery, Toronto, 2006
  
• FotoGrafia, Festival Internazionale Di Roma – Rome, Italy, 2006
  

Awards and Residencies:
Reminders Photography Stronghold – Photobook as Object, Tokyo Japan – 2025
Star Photobook Dummy Award – Nomination, 2024
Lumen Studios International Residency, Atina, Italy – 2016
Fife FOTOSPACE, Glenrothes, Scotland – Award, 2012
Archiphoto – International Awards for Architectural Photography, Strasbourg, France – Selection, 2012
Descubrimientos PhotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain – Selection, 2012
Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada – Commission, 2009

Publications:
Photomonitor, Portfolio, Those Who Hear the Ticking, https://photomonitor.co.uk/portfolio/those-who-hear-the-ticking/, March 2025
The Globe and Mail, Opinion, A photographic memory of Ukraine’s losses, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-styrannya-a-photographer-memorializes-ukraines-lost/, February 17, 2024
Adore Noir – Cover, Feature Article, Issue 44, June 2018, Canada
Latvian National Radio – Interview, 2018
Photo Speaks 2016 : The 8th International Festival for Photography and Video, Seoul, South Korea – Catalogue, 2016
Slovak National Radio –  Interview, 2018
EYEMAZING Magazine – Feature Article, Issue 04-2010 by Karl e. Johnson, Netherlands
PROFIFOTO, Magazine, Germany – Review, July 2010