It seemed that after the covid-19 pandemic, isolations, lockdowns, restrictions - first of all, we have had enough of this topic in a collective way, secondly, and probably inextricably linked to the first - the topic has been saturated to the core. That nothing can be said, written, done anymore. And even if, the reaction of readers, viewers, audiences can only be one. Not a situation conducive to further ideas, is it?
To our Youth Portfolio Meanwhile, a notification was received from Zbigniew Piotrowski, Peter. And this is an act of courage or desperation. And I like this series a lot, except that... Let's start at the beginning, though.
The author is active in the Tri-City, since 2009 he has shown his works at exhibitions, sent to competitions - successfully. He has several publications, three solo exhibitions, much more participation in collective exhibitions, and has been a member of ZPAF since 2022. He writes about his work: Although the closest to my heart is artistic, staged and creative photography, I do not close myself to portrait, documentary or landscape - the most important thing in my photography is always a person and everything that surrounds him, whether it is his real world or the world invented by me. Series Insulation It was created (I'm guessing) in 2022. It is carefully numbered, it is not difficult to get lost (even without seeing the file numbering). It's also described. Only, and this is where my but. But I show the photos in a different order and will not paste the author's description in full, while only in absolute necessity - one sentence: (the author himself knows that in addition in an abbreviated version)
10 photos, 10 medical recommendations, 10 interpretations of these recommendations in the form of medical folders.
Since I am changing the order precisely established by the author, it is appropriate to explain myself. Perhaps in a different format, in an exhibition, in a live presentation, the author's arrangement is strong and is better read. In a page show, one will primarily watch and not so much read. Of course, the viewer quickly gets into the game with the author - we see the recommendations and the action. Feedback strong and with a twist.
What can be seen? A struggle against boredom and illness, unspecified. We seemingly know, but we don't know. We can guess. And we have a clear signal that this is not an interpretive track. We abandon, therefore. We can see the hero struggling, and we are very much in his favor. He took us in jest. We are caught in something light, carefree, and yet the reference seems to be to unhappy circumstances. It's as if the author sensed that the topic he's tackling is pretty much over, the audience's buoyancy too.
Meanwhile, we have a great and diverse series of works. Basically, we see the same frame over and over again, with minor exceptions, which just reinforces even the variety of activities. We also always have something to read. Sometimes more, sometimes less. [And if we got rid of 3 frames it would be a honey-raspberry altogether].
Why don't I paste the author's description? Because I am not from editing and correcting typos. The text is not needed here. And certainly not the kind we received. It reads itself. Author's reflections that try to push the viewer into the only correct interpretive track ended before photography was invented. Let's go on our own after what we see. To some, the quote will hit, to me, for example, the cosmonaut appeals most. I laugh at the platter and think about old age. I look at the saved cards and long for the days of that paper, those mugs of coffee, and I still miss the ashtray there too. Of course I wander in my head to similar series, to other stories. The humorous ones - or let's better call them optimistically creative - approach to medical recommendations doesn't really give space to think about other than sanitary isolation. There are so many concepts here - reading, visual sophistication - that if it came down to a reflection on the fate of humanity, or exclusion based on race, religion or color of eyelashes, I suspect the author would have winked at us with a specific eye telling us just that. This in general could be a nice concept to develop the story, to add other chapters. It may turn out to be impossible in this particular format. For me anyway, these frames are enough. I was left with something disenchanted.