I open the hotel door and the first thing that hits me is the solitude of the colors. Then there is silence, in which light subtly walks. It attracts my bewildered gaze, leads me discreetly, invites me to explore a world unknown to me. I turn the page, as if opening another door of another world written in light and silent colors. The more I discover, the faster I disappear; I disappear as a passive observer, as a man who holds a book in his hands. I slowly begin to be filled with understanding, the real kind, devoid of the first infatuation.
And once again I return to those rooms and people. Not only my gaze stops for a longer time, but also the thoughts that cause pauses in my breathing. This is the world Krzysztof Goluch presented to me in his photographs, and to such a world he invited, I think, not only me.
, "Hotel" from the visual side reminds me very much of Edward Hopper's paintings. The same sensitivity of observation, the same sense of seeing and adapting colors and light, which is crucial in creating the final image for both authors. The palpable aura of solitude and intimacy that surrounds the characters in the photographs can only be created when the author himself, in this case the photographer, becomes invisible, retreats into the shadows, becomes the silence he observes and describes, and if he needs to make his presence known in any way, he can only do so by being seen as "his own."
This type of approach in photography is necessary to give birth to images uncontaminated by its presence (the outside world), so that the content resulting from the composition fills the entire frame. In Goluch's photographs, this filling and togetherness is felt. One does not perceive or feel these images from the position of an intruder who has intruded without delicacy into the world of people and is deliberately trying to snatch something from it. One is assured that Christopher is very close to the characters in the photographs, and on top of that the narrative carried out in the frames shows a duality in which the photographs not only tell the story of the people and places photographed, but the same shots say a lot about the photographer as a person and his sensitivity. It is safe to say that every photograph is to some extent our self-portrait. I think Christopher is aware of this, which is why he is both absent and present in the photographs he has taken.
The works are documentary in nature, but through the attention to the visual pattern of the whole and the complement that is the "poetics of the documentary", it is difficult not to indulge in the subtle delight of receiving them. However, as I said, it is not just an attractively visual set, but a multi-layered collection of feelings, stories that are the strength of these photos. This, above all, beats from them.
You can see the many years of work and being with people with disabilities not only during the implementation of this project, but even from a related topic that Christopher presented in his book entitled "Every Seventh".
Some "hotel frames" also remind me of William Eggleston's photographs. The American photographer, despite the fact that he took pictures in hotels from the position of a traveler, a temporary guest, also portrayed using "the solitude of light." This is a frankly positive analogy that we can see in Goluch's works. However, what is even deeper in the works of a man who spent five years looking at intellectually disabled people at work in a hotel?
Christopher has done something else that is not often successful in so-called documentary projects, namely to make every single frame also a separate story. "Hotel" is not only a very valuable whole, but precisely the stories in individual photos, in which we can read for a long time. Each photograph even commands us to ponder and spin our interpretations, reflections. They are often reminiscent of frames from Roy Andersson's films, which even create a theatrical setting, a pause of life. In this pause we can see something completely different from what the cinematographer himself saw, this stops us for even longer at a given photo.
I would also add that while writing this text about Christopher's project I did not read either the interviews or even the introduction to the book. What I do very often is that I walk in "clean shoes" into the world in front of me, without having the words and opinions of others in my head. I explore the images that my eyes virginly see. Such a mannerism makes me able to confront the subject matter as subjectively and cleanly as possible. Only later do I read the book's introduction, look for author's statements, etc. Below is an excerpt from the book's introduction, written by Michal Szalast.
Photographs from the series "Hotel" by Krzysztof Goluch depict the work of disabled people, while being a reflection on the destiny of man. The static figures in the photos seem to be frozen in time. No one here is running, rushing or struggling against the passing of time. The unhurried work, surrounded by color and doused in light, is endless. We will find nothing superfluous, and the clean composition is built by a specific arrangement of figures, objects and colors. To draw our attention to the world of disability, the author uses clear composition and expressive color, which are irresistibly associated with the paintings of Edward Hopper. The Hopperian realism of Goluch's photographs, filling large areas of the picture with pure color and atmospheric light, has as strong an impact as the American artist's paintings. It all seems to be set in a territory where time has lost any meaning. As Professor Vladimír Birgus describes the photographs in the "Hotel" series, the cinematographer balances on the borderline between classical documentary and staged art through clean, thoughtful compositions.
This confirms for the umpteenth time how the sensitivity of seeing, feeling is similar in many artists and viewers, and the words overlap. Not just the ones based on art knowledge, but the intimate ones extracted from experiencing the work alone.
At this year's Fotofestiwal in Lodz, you could see two works from the project , "Hotel". Two rather large prints on a dark wall looked beautiful, left me unsatisfied, wanted to walk around this "hotel" further. I know that the author has presented this project in exhibitions at home and abroad over the past years, but such valuable stories should be reminded to the audience. It is not only from my selfish motives that I wish for another "full exhibition". It is always worth showing what is important, even after many years, even more so after many years.
Finally, I left myself a few words about the book, that is, this treasure that allows us to commune with photos at any time and is a kind of tangible rescue from oblivion, disappearance. Because, in fact, every book has such a task.
The book is touched, smelled, perceived with all the senses. A book is a physical trace of human history, in this case the people and places on both sides of the lens. A photographic book is not just for looking at, colloquially speaking. It is first and foremost for reading, reading what's beyond the text, and that's why the people who encapsulate projects like , "Hotel" have such an important task. In this case, the horizontal rectangle is ideal for displaying photos, where individual frames consist of multiple layers of content. On top of this, the photos are often accompanied by a slightly creamy blank as an adjacent page. This allows for a deeper interaction, takes away the distraction of our attention. Maybe it's just my feeling, but the cover itself makes me think of the materials used to upholster armchairs and poufs. It is possible that this is the intended purpose, after all, the story contained in this book takes place in a hotel. The pictures "read" very pleasantly, they are the right size with good to the eye repetitive placement, which is important for "watching" such stories. The layout doesn't scream, doesn't beat the eye, doesn't take us out of our solitary walk, and such minimalism is always a strength in such publications. Also, we walk slowly through the hotel, exploring, entering the timelessness of light and colors created by exceptional people.
I congratulate everyone who did a good job to make this book possible in such a neat form. It is definitely worth having this item at home, and most of all, it is worth leaning into the topics that Christopher Goluch raises and returning to them, because they remind you of what is important and teach you anew. I wish the author to persist in his mission and equally beautifully and poignantly unveil more human stories.
KRZYSZTOF GOŁUCH - Polish photographer and educator born in Ruda Śląska, Upper Silesia. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology at Silesian University in Katowice and the Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University in Opava. He is currently a doctoral student at the Opava university. In his work he deals with documentary photography, realizing subjects in cycles of long-term projects. His work oscillates around the problems of human existence, especially the lives of disabled people. Krzysztof Goluch is a member of the Polish Association of Photographic Artists, author of the photography book "Every Seventh". For his work in 2017 he was awarded the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" medal by Pope Francis. Winner of photography competitions: first prize in the European Union competitions "Breaking stereotypes" for students of art colleges (representing the Institut tvůrčí fotografie), Three times awarded the Polish Grand Press Photo in 2022 for the long-term project "Taste of life" , 2021 for a single photo in the "Daily Life" category, and in 2018 for the Hotel set. He has also exhibited his photographs outside Poland, including at various festivals: Trasphotographiques in French Lille and PhotoSaintGermain in Paris, Month of Photography in Bratislava, Prague Photo, Photokina in Cologne, European Month of Photography in Luxembourg. Krzysztof Goluch lives and works in Knurów, Upper Silesia, and has been working with disabled people at the local "Caritas" center for several decades.
