The Visual Narrative Laboratory is a media lab founded in 2019 as a space for experimentation in the field of contemporary audiovisual culture at the Lodz Film School. At its core, it was primarily driven by a search for artistic means appropriate to new media forms, a flexible approach to production processes, trust in creators and an orientation towards research—thanks to which we not only produce a lot of new content, but also subject it to detailed analysis by a team of researchers and scientists.

The works we are presenting in this exhibition are the result of almost five years of our activity. Through open calls, we reached out to a diverse group of creators - from poets and filmmakers to dancers, set designers, and various other artists from the realms of theatre and visual arts of any kind. They were encouraged to submit projects on themes that were important to them and to explore the best forms to articulate their sentiments. The collaborative spirit among participants, marked by the sharing of knowledge, perspectives, and innovative ideas between people with different artistic backgrounds and sensibilities, has been pivotal. It's this synergy and collective reflection that has sculpted the works and birthed methods to engage with media whose conventions are still in the process of shaping.

We hope that the works presented in the exhibition, along with the forthcoming publications of accompanying research and reflections, will contribute, to some extent, to defining these conventions. This collection underscores an ongoing dialogue about the essence, tools, themes, emotional resonance, and alignment of media properties in today’s audiovisual culture.

Experiences presented at 'Ground Control' are testimony to the courage to imagine new horizons: they leave the ground but do not lose touch with it. ‘Ground Control’ is an invitation to explore unknown spaces and find dazzling vistas beyond the default viewpoints.

But the exhibition's title also takes on a somewhat ironic dimension when juxtaposed with the works on display: for it turns out that control, especially ground control, is not only something longed for rather than experienced, but might be an unchaseable or even an unwanted dream.

Perhaps value only appears when we allow ourselves to let it go.

At the end of the day, in most cases, control turns out to be illusory anyway.