REW006

Indulgence in the town of Kadłub Wolny ( Opolskie County). The residents kneel during a field mass. This is a very special community – 400 years ago this village during the times of deep feudalism bought itself out of serfdom and for last 400 years the inhabitants have kept their independence. They established three communities: the Tavern Community, the Forest Community and the Lakes Community (now the only thing that is left are the forest, nobody has an individual part but only a share in the whole forest). The residents are very close to each other. In the picture the celebrate an indulgence and dance. The photograph is part of the „How to Rejuvenate an Eagle” project appreciated by Aperture Foundation and Paris Photo in the Photo Book of the Year 2020 competition.

“We wanted to find out what people’s lives really look like, what they believe in, what unites them. In 2017, as a writer-photographer reporting team, with my wife Dyba Lach we set out to explore and understand our country, its complexity and ambiguity. We traveled 16 000 km in three years. In our journey we were looking for an answer to a question of what shapes Polish identity today. We faced Polish stereotypes rooted in the culture and everyday life. We talked to people, asked about what being a Pole means to them, what is the meaning of community, belonging and strangeness. We have observed that reality is much more complex than TV stories, Facebook feeds and common beliefs. We have also been trying to understand the concept of border, searching for the meaning of the term and trying to find out if it even truly matters in the joined-up world of today, in a member country of the European Union. Because of Polish history, we are very familiar with this term. Borders were changed throughout the ages, the most acute changes appeared in 19th and 20th centuries, because of international agreements, wars, partitions. Today, to the borders we have already known, a new one, tangible, has been added – 1.5 meter sanitary rigor. It appeared just when our journey was coming to an end. Over the three years of our work we found out that borders are quite easy to determine, but very hard to get rid of. They last for many years, remain even after such tragic events as II World War, Holocaust, resettlement, Communism. We realised Poland is a patchwork of societies, religions, nationalities, views, a collection of tribes. For hundreds of years, Poland was an open, diverse, multi-faith country, a mixture of cultures. This has not changed.It is something we need to be reminded of. Yet it seems quite difficult with the society trapped in time.’’

Numbered and signed Limited Edition Collectors Print
Print technology: archival pigment print
Paper: Hahnemühle HEMP
Print Edition: 5+2AP
Print size: 100x75cm

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