We are in Poland, a country near and far away at the same time. This country has not always been in the same place throughout history. It was fought over, it changed its shape. The village we visit today has an outstanding thing for us: A gallery on the fences of the villages houses, deep in the middle of nowhere.
There are forests and lakes, castles, farmsteads, dilapidated farmhouses and vast meadows. Storks circle in the air, birds chirp and a few vacationers ride their bicycles through the vast, silent landscape. There is a lot to experience in the Masurian Lake District for those who have not come in search of superlatives. There are no high mountains or waterfalls here, no skyscrapers, cable cars or party tents. Just nature, lots of animals and hospitable people.
The Nowhere Gallery
However, the area in eastern Poland, which has hardly been discovered by tourists, also has its special highlights. This summer, one of them was the Wojnowski Festival of Photography, a venture that took place around the tiny spot of Wojnowo. Between paddle boat harbors and horse pastures, colorfully painted old houses, monasteries, churches and a few vacation guesthouses, large-format works by three dozen outstanding photographers were simply hung on the village's house fences for this purpose.
500 great photos in large format of 100 to 70 centimeters form probably the most unusual gallery on the continent: 2.5 kilometers long, with fantastic views of the whole world as seen by great masters such as Marta Kulesza, Sylwia Makris, Kasia Trojak or Magda Korzewska, dedicated to distant lands, subjects such as special architecture or faces and streets.
Wide thematic range
In total, 26 individual and four collective exhibitions were to see in Wojnowo. The thematic range of the presented works was enormously wide: there were classic reportages from all over the world, sports photography, portraits, nature and conceptual photography.
Paulina Holtz warned "Don't follow me, I'm lost", Renata Dabrowska dived into the sweaty atmosphere of a "disco" (title), Katarzyna Kubiak photographed in the "Intercity" and Oleksandra Parafieniuk delivered impressive photo artworks from her homeland, the Ukraine.
No two pictures are the same, no two angles can be confused. Some photographic handwriting seems a bit strange, as in "Let's paint so that Poland will rise again," others, like Anna Musiałówna's "Female Cells," a bit whimsical. But in between are images that can stand up even next to the sun burning from the Polish sky: strange snapshots of people doing strange things. Fascinating professional biographies, as told by Monika Szewczyk-Witek. And insights into the minds of the photographers, who report on the backgrounds of their photojournalistic work.
Rivals of mother nature
The undertaking is as bold as it is impressive. Hanging pictures that rival the grandeur of nature in the middle of a landscape that itself absorbs all gaze is audacious. But these photos stand up to the sky, clouds, forests and reflecting lakes. Magda Właszek close-ups of flora are like a magnifying glass over what you can't see otherwise. Julia Szabłowska demands "There is no killing here" and she is right, not here, here everything seems like paradise.
The "closeness in times of war and occupation" that Marta Rybicka evokes in her photos goes to the heart. And Justyna Ślęczka's photo series "For the Love of the Mountains" opens the view beyond the horizon. In addition, there are "Forests through the Lens of Foresters" to see, beautiful photos taken by employees of the Polish State Forests.
Moments with Fujifilm
Fans of sports photos will get their money's worth at the seat of the local council. Especially impressive are the photographs taken by the photographers of the Polish Paralympic Foundation at the Tokyo Olympics, which perfectly document victories and defeats, jubilation and disappointment.
But the icing on the cake of the exhibition are the images from the Fujifilm Moment Street Photo Awards 2022 competition, shot by 40 outstanding photographers from all over the world. Nothing is staged, nothing is posed. Street Photography usually refers photos that capture a fleeting moment in an image, a play on subjects, lights or geometric arrangements, or all at once. Frozen moments that remain thanks to the photographers, even in the memory of the viewer.
You can read the first part here, second here, 3 here and 4 here and the 5 here, 6 here and more here and here
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