Of Stone, Wood, Light, and What Kamień, Drewno, Światło I Co
Photography
2024
Wining Project of Art Lives Here Artist Residency by Leonardo Hotels, Warsaw, Poland
“To rebuild a homeland, we started with stones and wood. In the end, we brought the light back to the city.”
During my artist residency time in Warsaw, each day as I returned to my hotel, I saw a giant wall painting with the text “KAMIEŃ I CO (STONE AND WHAT)” on the side of a ruined tenement house, telling stories of the past.
On the last weekend of my residency, the people of Warsaw were celebrating the anniversary of the old town's rebuilding. I was fascinated and deeply moved by the spirit of the people who believe in the power of rebuilding from the ruins. In this photography series, I documented the elements in the city that are symbolic for what are essential for rebuilding a homeland: construction sites in the old town, the curves on the walls that witness history, city lights at midnight, and wood in the park. I overlapped these photographs with images of people, current city landscapes, and archives. My aim is to reconstruct imaginary cityscapes from and beyond reality that connect the past and present, paying tribute to the shining spirit of the people who call Warsaw home.
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Stone Pattern, Boy, and the Uprising Old Town Moon
Brick, Construction Materials in the Old Town, and the Skyscrapers
Children and the Giant Wood
Fallen Tree and the Shadow of a Girl
People in the City at Midnight, and a Milky Way of Stone