It was 1992, and Czarnkow, a small town in Greater Poland in the district of Trzcianec and Czarnkow on the Notec River, was celebrating its 800th anniversary. Marek Pozniak, a native of Czarnkow but no longer living there, throws out an idea: let's take 800 photographs of residents for the town's 800th anniversary. The mayor "buys" the idea and the young photographer sets to work.
Thanks to the favor of the principal of Elementary School No. 1 and several female teachers, several hundred photographs are taken over several days in grades five through eight. The children in the photos are smiling, posing, making faces, as children slowly become youngsters.
It's 2022, and Marek Pozniak again throws out an idea: let's repeat the photos after 30 years! On Facebook in the fall of 2021, a profile "Czarnkowskie historie" is created, where Pozniak begins to publish contact photos of portraits from 1992 with a request and proposal to meet again and repeat the photographs, along with a short story about what happened in their lives over the past 30 years. The response has been tremendous, with comments aplenty. The photographer, who lives in Switzerland, but also teaches photography in Berlin and Lodz, finds time several times to drop in for a day or two in Czarnkow to meet with his former models, now in their forties. An improvised photo studio is set up on the stage of the community center, where new shots are taken. In total, dozens of them are collected. They will be included in the book, along with descriptions of the further lives of the photographed people. Reading these stories one is reminded of "Our Class" by Jacek Kaczmarski....
Aug. 13, 2023 - At 4 p.m., the opening ceremony begins at the Museum of the Black Earth. Mr. Pertek, the director, speaks, then the hero of the afternoon speaks, there are backstage conversations, and an interview for the local local newspaper. Double portraits hang on the walls - children's portraits on top, and adult photographs below. On the faces of many of the vernissage guests one can see hard-to-hide emotion. A return to childhood... " And you remember..." - can be heard here and there. The past was not always and not for everyone joyful, and also what happened later was not always and not for everyone a string of successes alone.
This is an important event for the residents of Chernarus - the awareness of taking part in something that already has historical significance. They have already passed into the history of the city, and their images will become after another 30 years, even more valuable. Because with photography it's like with wine - the older the better. What I like about the project is both the idea and the implementation; such things can also be a contribution to ethical considerations - about the duties of a photographer. Marek Pozniak remembers where he comes from, all the time maintains contact with the city where he was born, and realizes his bond photographically. He even financed the creation of the book.
