Karkonosze Museum / Jelenia Góra / 28 Matejki St. / Gallery on the Mountain / 5.10.2022 / 17:00
The Karkonosze Museum in Jelenia Góra and the Jelenia Góra Photographic Zone Association invite you to the opening of the "Footsteps of Memory" exhibition on October 5 at 5:00 pm.
Its author is Tomasz Mielech, a member of the Union of Polish Artists Photographers, an artist known to Jelenia Góra residents for his various forms of activity. He is a curator and organizer of photography exhibitions, runs the Korytarz Gallery and Jeleniogórska Szkoła Fotografii (Jeleniogórska School of Photography), deals with photography education and organizes the Biennale of Mountain Photography, of which he is a two-time winner. His photographic work differs from the currently popular forms of imaging, as the artist prefers classic photography, made with large-format cameras, where the photographic image is created on light-sensitive material.
The exhibition entitled. "Traces of memory" is made in just such a way. It consists of about 45 works, created from 13×18 cm negatives using the contact method. Its content refers to the cultural landscape of Lower Silesia, or more precisely its part: Upper Lusatia. The author observes the process of disappearance: monuments of sacred architecture, cemeteries, houses and even entire towns. This phenomenon is occurring on a large scale in our region, and there is no indication that it will end soon. It is the result, as in the case of Upper Lusatia, of the activities of the mining industry, but also of various negligence and inefficiencies in the system for their protection, as well as of public acceptance of this state of affairs. We are accustomed to the sight of devastated palaces and houses, ruins are part of the landscape. Meanwhile, as Tomasz Mielech notes, the traces of former inhabitants still remain to be read, the memory of places that no longer exist to be preserved and stories to be tamed or rewritten.
This exhibition allows viewers to come into contact with the art of photography at the highest level, where content and form perfectly harmonize. It also provides a chance to reflect on the cultural and social context of the phenomenon and a kind of insight into what is lost and what is preserved.
The exhibition can be seen until October 31, 2022.
