A teraz, jakby to powiedział Monthy Python coś z zupełnie innej beczki:) No może nie tak do końca z innej, bo o tym projekcie już parę razy tutaj pisałem. Dzisiaj znów pojawiła się szansa aby o nim przypomnieć. Zacznę może jednak od początku. W zeszłym roku, Karol Hordziej zapytał mnie, czy zechciałbym wziąć udział w wystawie zbiorowej pt. „Good Times: New Photography from Poland” w ramach China Pingyao International Photography Festival. Oczywiście zgodziłem się bez wahania. Na wystawę, która odbyła się w dniach 19-25 września oprócz mojego projektu składały się jeszcze fotografie Uli Klimek, Łukasza Biedermana, Dominiki Kamińskiej oraz Yulki Wilam. Niestety z powodu braku czasu nie dane było mi zobaczyć tego na własne oczy. Trochę żałuję, no ale cóż, tak to już bywa w sezonie ślubnym. Niedawno otrzymaliśmy skromną fotorelację oraz dyplomy z festiwalu, którymi to chciałem się z Wami podzielić. Zapraszam zatem do zapoznania się z materiałami z wystawy oraz obejrzenia moich zdjęć, które pokazywane były w Chinach. Jeszcze może tylko słowo wyjaśnienia, otóż te 6 zdjęć to tylko część projektu, który wisiał na miesiącu fotografii w Krakowie. Miło mi również poinformować, że (za wyjątkiem dwóch) jest to ich pierwsza internetowa publikacja.
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As Monthy Python would say „ and now for something completely different”:) Actually, not that different, because I have already written about this project several times. Today I have the opportunity to remind you about the project again. Let me start from the very beginning, though. Last year Karol Hordziej asked me if I would like to participate in a collective exhibition called “Good Times: New Photography from Poland” within the framework of China Pingyao International Photography Festival. Obviously, I agreed without any hesitation. The exhibition was held between the 25-29th September and it comprised, except for my project, the photos by Ula Klimek, Łukasz Biederman, Dominika Kamińska and Yulka Wilam. Unfortunately, I was not able to see the exhibition with my own eyes, due to the lack of time. I regret a little but well…this is what it’s like in the wedding season. We have recently received a brief photo relation and the diplomas from the festival that I would like to share with you. Thus, I would like to invite you to get familiar with the exhibition material as well as my photographs which were shown in China. Let me clarify one thing here, namely, the six photographs are only a part of the project that was exhibited during “Photography Month” in Cracow. I also have pleasure in informing you that(except for the two ones) it is their first online publication.
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Good Times: New Photography from Poland
A campsite during summer holidays, household rituals, an absurd ad by the roadside, a town deserted for winter – these are just some of the motifs taken from works assembled for the exhibition “Good Times: New Photography from Poland”. Their authors are keen observers of reality; their eyes are perceptive of detail and they are sensitive to subtle ambiences. They seek simple pleasures. One of the participants in the exhibition writes about herself, “I like people, especially those seemingly ordinary”. This sentence could have been a motto for the entire exhibition. It shows openness, an acceptance of a reality that is imperfect, changeable, full of absurdities and beautiful ugliness, as well as feelings transgressing naive youthful joy. There is space for boredom, weariness with family discussions, a sense of solitude, and much more.
One of the most fascinating features of the latest generation of Polish photography is its turning towards issues that are local, unassuming, and as a result very specific. The authors no longer feel under pressure to go on long journeys to create interesting material. Quite the opposite: they stay at home, in towns barely known even in their own country, or they photograph family life, seemingly devoid of any attractiveness. They already appreciate things that we only start seeing as valuable over time, from a nostalgic perspective defined as the “good times”. What’s more they openly depict scenes that have little in common with the mythologized image of youth, ubiquitous as homogenous hipster photography on blogs of the young generation. They boldly resist the temptation to create endless copies of the same myths by presenting their own histories, stripped of excessive beautification and expressed through simple means.
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Na koniec wspomnę może jeszcze tylko, że dwie pierwsze fotografie dostępne są w sprzedaży na stronie fundacji sztuk wizualnych:
http://www.sztukawizualna.org/sklep/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=76
Serdecznie zapraszam do ich nabycia. W cenie marnej jakości zdjęcia zrobionego przydrożnym fotoradarem, dostajecie wspaniałą odbitkę wydrukowaną na papierze Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk z certyfikatem oryginalności oraz potwierdzoną edycją. Uważam, że to prawdziwa okazja;)
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In the end, I would like to mention, that the first two photos can be bought on the website of visual arts foundation:
http://www.sztukawizualna.org/sklep/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=76
You are more than welcome to purchase them. At the price of a poor quality photo taken by a speed camera, you get a fantastic print on Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk paper with the Certificate of Authenticity and edition confirmed. I think it’s a real bargain:)
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