This selection of photocomics offers a view into the history of a form that appeared in Hungary with some delay – though closely following European trends –, in the 1960s, and sank almost completely into oblivion after the political transition. It is a young genre whose very name has not become firmly established, with “photonovel” being interchangeable with “photocomics” and the Italian “fumetti.” This topic appears as a new research field in Hungary, therefore the exhibition intends to encourage further studies. To that end we have created a database – the result of our researches up to this time – that can be taken home via a smartphone. The photographic stories presented at the exhibition were made by artists who approached the genre from other art forms (cinema, photography, sculpture, painting, literature), making use of its formal characteristics in different ways, for diverse purposes. The common denominator is a desire for narrative, and the fact that they don’t question the genre itself, which was generally looked down upon and considered synonymous with clichéd, popular love stories. Instead these artists chose to play with the genre spontaneously, which makes them unique even on international level.

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