Many Polish photographers after World War II until now have been trying to tackle one of the most difficult subjects of Polish reality - Silesia. How to present its synthetic vision, and above all the people and their problems, as well as the degraded environment and architecture?
Such an attempt has also been made by Jerzy Wierzbicki, who has already tackled the subject of the Gdansk suburbs (his album "Gdansk Suburbia" was recently published). The photographer emphasizes the importance of monumental architecture, which in Silesia can appear like a decoration on a theater stage, empty spaces evoking an impression of existential emptiness.
Is there any way out of this dark situation and depressing space, even hell on earth? Perhaps the hope is children who have not yet succumbed to alcoholism? At least not completely! Perhaps it is the symbols of religion that continue unabated, if only in the form of a roadside cross. But for how long? Perhaps salvation lies in the revitalization of areas and the restoration of industry, or at least a partial change in its status. This is the shortest way I can put the historical and sociological issues I see in Wierzbicki's evocative and visually powerful photographs.
The style of his photography is certainly not homogeneous, nor focused on a single aesthetic The photographer uses a wide-angle lens that zooms in and at the same time deforms the reality depicted. He likes shots like those from 19th-century photography, in which he depicts old architecture in a monumental way, but without the people who are no longer needed In these photos I see nostalgia for the bygone grandeur and dignity of the special region that is Silesia. Other photographs depict the work ethos, although this subject is very dangerous and uncomfortable for recent photography due to the Polish tradition of socialist realism, which vulgarized the issue. However, Wierzbicki in this matter wants to refer to the ideas of Sebastião Salgado, who extremely suggestively depicted various forms of industry collapsing around the world, including the shipbuilding industry in Poland (circa 1980). Wierzbicki successfully searches for the symbol-sign of the region. He finds it both in fragments of reality and in such details as hands, a pickaxe or coal. He aptly documents the drudgery of daily life, in which the only work available is collecting leftover iron or mining inactive pits, which is very dangerous and testifies to the tragedy of the lives of many people of the region Everything is gray and frightening in its hopelessness. A note of nostalgia appears in the photograph of an ethnic minority such as Gypsies. The problem of accepting otherness is still relevant in today's world. Here the unsurpassed role model is still Josef Koudelka's famous series from the 1960s "Gypsies". But this is a very difficult subject due to the lack of cooperation between the photographer and the photographed Some of Wierzbicki's photos go back to the achievements of photo journalism and reportage, including the World Press Photo competition, which unfortunately has lost the importance it had in the 1970s or 1980s, because it excessively idealized the reality depicted instead of presenting a critical vision of it, which is extremely difficult. In a ma- il of February 2006, Wierzbicki wrote to me about his inspirations: "In addition, over the years I have noticed that my reception of Koudelka's photos is also influenced by the fact that I like rather dark and contrasting photographs taken with a lens that falsifies perspective, and the album on Gypsies has just such a style. I used to be fascinated by Jindřich Štreit with his warmth and cordiality, and later by some lesser-known Magnum photographers, such as Jean Gaumy or Lise Sarfati. I would also have to mention Witold Krassowski and Tomasz Tomaszewski.
Wierzbicki's work contains the visual message that existed in the best period of Polish reportage during the Solidarity era. Also discernible, but less frequently, is the modern handling of the frame that was used both in the 1920s in new photography and later in the 1950s-80s starting with the reception of Robert Frank's photography, which showed that a documentary could have its surreal and partly unreal expression. Wierzbicki successfully depicts the sadness and melancholy life of Silesia, accentuating the problem of their inhabitants losing themselves in life's everyday non-being, largely created by lack of work and poverty. How to help them, can photography do that? There are no certain answers to these questions, but the presentation of the problem is already an attempt to indicate this solution.
Jerzy Wierzbicki (1975) born in Gdansk, Poland. Trained as an archaeologist. Photographer of several archaeological missions in the Middle East, including Babylon Archaeological Project in Iraq (2003) Winner of, among others, Newsweek Poland (2002), Polish Press Photo contests (2003), Hummanity Photo Award UNESCO Beijing (2004). Author of the album Gdańsk Suburbia. Works in the collections of the National Museum in Gdansk and the Art Museum in Lodz, as well as in private collections at home and abroad (including USA, Germany, South Africa).
The article appeared in issue 20 of "Fotografia Quarterly" in 2006