Past events | exhibitions:
In Search of Lost Time | W poszukiwaniu straconego czasu
15.07.2022-18.09.2022
PF Galeria | CK Zamek in Poznań
In Search of Lost Time | W Poszukiwaniu Straconego Czasu
29.01.2022-28.02.2022
Galeria Fotografii Ratusz | Zamość
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In Search of Lost Time | W Poszukiwaniu Straconego Czasu
09.10.2021-26.10.2021
Galeria Pierwsze Piętro | Opolski Festiwal Fotografii 2021 | Opole
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In Search of Lost Time | W Poszukiwaniu Straconego Czasu
10.12.2020-01.03.2021
Galeria Szklarnia II | PWSFTviT in Lodz
Scientists have shown us that the foundations of life, of Earth itself, are failing.The principal ideologies of the twentieth century considered the Earth and nature as sources of inexpensive, infinite raw material. Humans assumed that the atmosphere could continually absorb emissions, that oceans could endlessly absorb waste, that soil could constantly renew itself if given more fertiliser, that animal species would keep moving aside as humans colonised more and more space.
Over the next hundred years, there will be foundational changes in the nature of water on our Earth. Glaciers will melt away. Ocean levels will rise. Increasing global temperatures will lead to droughts and floods. The oceans will acidify to a degree not seen for fifty million years. All this will happen during the lifetime of a child who is born today and lives to be my grandmother's age, ninety-five.
Earth's mightiest forces have forsaken geological time and now change on a human scale. Changes that previously took a hundred thousand years now happen in one hundred. Such speed is mythological; it affects all life on Earth, affects the roots of everything we think, choose, produce, and believe. It affects everyone we know, everyone we love. We are confronted by changes that are more complex than most of what our minds typically deal with. These changes surpass any of our previous experiences, surpass most of the language and metaphors we use to navigate our reality.
Andri Snær Magnason
On Time and Water
translated by Lytton Smith
Humans do not rule this land
07.02-03.05.2020
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
Travelling through the empty space we move in slow motion. The monumental landscape scales us in a way that even if we move abruptly we look as though we just woke up from the deepest dream. Time passage is inscribed within the accretions of lava, the never-ending deluge of water and decay of man-made structures scattered throughout the land. The nature that surrounds us is changing rapidly, unpredictably and beyond anyone's control. From time to time there is a house or a car looking like an abandoned toy. A road sign warns about stones lurking on the steep slopes. Finally, in the middle of nowhere, a spill of concrete next to a piece of a metal bridge which was destroyed during the flood a few years back. Humans do not rule this land. Raindrops ferociously hit the rooftop, and the wind swings the metal tin. It’s dark outside. We stop for the night.
Too Tired Project - #TooTiredWarsaw
Leica 6x7 Gallery, Warsaw
18:00 - 20:00
21 March 2019
Ambient Landscape
Black Eye Gallery, Sydney
October 30-November 12, 2017
Alison Schmitz, Anita Marks, Anne Affortit, Aïsha Baert, Bastian Richter, Bob Scott, Brian S. Lee, Cathy Ronalds, Chiara Zonca, Cody Cobb, Daniel Pazdur, David Campbell, David Friske, Debbie O’Donnell, Ellen Jantzen, Emmanuel Monzon, Fransisca Angela, Graham White, Homer Liwag, Iris Van Loon, Jessica Cantlin, Johan Holmquist, John Andreas Godwin, Kiliii Yuyan, Marcela Gara, Maurizio Martorana, Michelle Lorén, Olga Gordienko, Paul McMillan, Sandra Ramos, Stein Jarle Nilsen, Stu Sontier, Suzan Pektas, Takeshi Suga, Thomas Papakostas, Tom McGahan, Tom Sullam and Zuzanna Szarek.
There Won’t Be Any Other End of the World | Innego końca świata nie będzie
National Museum in Gdansk | Gallery of Photography (Green Gate)
25 March - 17 June 201
The title of the exhibition by Zuzanna Szarek and Hanna Śliwińska refers to the poem by Czesław Miłosz, A Song On the End of the World. The poet warns that the world may end suddenly, without any biblical signs appearing in the sky. What is common for the two photographers is the fear of the decline, fall, end of the world. “We are watching the reality which is heading towards destruction. It is not a linear process; there are turns, temporary recoveries, moments of spring and illusive hope. But there are always some places where trees are wilting, buildings are disappearing, rivers are diverting their waters and people are closing their eyes. Each of us tries, in her own way, to organize and accept this state of affairs" - say the artists. This vision of instability and volatility is the reason for collecting pictures from various geographic regions, natural landscapes, urban architecture and sometimes people. The fear of the “end” directs the artists’ lenses to colourful landscapes of mountains, seas and desserts, as well as ordinary cityscape. As the world is so volatile and our faith is uncertain, we should keep memories about it in the form of pictures which document the present time.
Zuzanna Szarek carefully selects her frames. She does not take pictures of momentous events, picturesque views or beautiful people. She is a documentarian of the day-to-day reality and she wants to commemorate the so-called mediocrity, apparent “nothing”. She feels that she does not surrender to the illusions of the world, she does not feel delight or despair. Her stoic reality is the balance of profit and loss. While choosing her frames, Hanna Śliwińska follows her intuition. She is not a rebel, however, she does not fully agree with the inevitable decline. She treats existence as a pause in non-existence. She tries to remember the world, see what is around her and keep momentary impressions. The main topic of her photography is the nature and its impenetrable force. She also focuses on people, the relation between nature and human physicality. The exhibition combines these two views about transience.
Hanna Śliwińska’s photographs are “more personal”. She portrays people and her presentations of nature are filled with deep nostalgia, whereas Zuzanna Szarek keeps the distance between the motives she portrays. The artists do not apply direct portrayals of the world's volatility and human fragility. There’s is no vision of places stricken by conflicts and wars, no Warhol-like series of disasters and fatalities. Using neutral motives, the artists have created a visual record which reflects their emotions - from fear to delight. The concept of the world without evil and death seems to be difficult. The promise of paradise is tempting but it may lead to disappointment: if beauty may be eternal and uninterrupted, maybe it is pointless to preserve what surrounds us? The same motives may seem trivial like “postcards from paradise”.
The pictures gathered by the two artists document the world’s beauty, as well as its mediocrity, and they lead the audience towards the affirmation of life. The civilization based on fear does not guarantee the development of societies. Although we sometimes sense the imminent Apocalypse, we want to believe that the foreseeable future will bring something better. The message of the exhibition is the sentence from Horace’s “Carpe diem”: live like tomorrow never comes.
Author: Mariola Balińska
Tel Aviv, Promised Land
Służewski Dom Kultury
16 sierpnia 2016 – 30 sierpnia 2016
„Tel Aviv, przestrzeń miejska w fotografii” to seria zdjęć dokumentujących subtelne fragmenty jednego miasta. Na pozór są to proste ujęcia, które powstają na marginesie podróży. Nie ma w nich typowych miejsc turystycznych, ani innych odniesień do konkretnego miasta. Szarek oddaje przestrzeń miejską jako anonimową, kreuje na miejsce uniwersalne – dosłowne – gdziekolwiek. Fragment plaży, elewacja modernistycznego budynku, kable i kamery przemysłowe, jak prawie wszędzie. Drobne elementy, po których możemy rozpoznawać konkretną przestrzeń, układają się jak puzzle w jeden obraz. Jest pełen sprzeczności, napięcia i daleki od wizji reklamowych. Miasto radości, wakacyjnego czasu, zatracenia i hedonizmu, które żyje w zagrożeniu i napięciu. Która część przeważy? Sodoma i Gomora leżały całkiem niedaleko, choć to przecież tylko mit. Tym bardziej anonimowość przestrzeni ze zdjęć, każe się ponownie zastanowić nad nośnością tej legendy.
Joanna Kinowska
2016 Fotofestiwal Lodz OFFROAD: Zuzanna Szarek, Tel Aviv. Przestrzeń miejska w fotografii
2016 Krakow Foto Fringe: Zuzanna Szarek, Tel Aviv. Przestrzeń miejska w fotografii