exhibition

One way of speaking about Upper Silesia is through the lens of acquired experiences. The exhibition “The Experience of Place” presents some of the most interesting photographic projects narrating the region, which were created after 2010. It is a reflection on the relationship between man and space, understood as a place of living.

Krzysztof Szewczyk’s photographic series “Tremor” explores traces and stories related to the phenomenon of seismic tremors. He focuses on epicentric portions of the landscape, reached through available seismic maps. The theme also relates to the collective experience of mining townspeople, that is, the physical sensation of tremors and the anxiety associated with it.

“Turn Round” is a long-term project implemented in Upper Silesia since 2016 by Tomasz Liboska. The series is a photographic record of people and places, backed by stories about industrial heritage and the people living in its shadow. A photographer is interested in „the unofficial reality beyond the façade of bourgeois life” (S. Sontag).

Kaja Rata’s photographs from the “here and there” series create a poetic tale from the borderline between the reality and dream. For Kaja Rata, it is a way of seeking an escape route from the place where she was born and raised. Through the creative act, she manages to disenchant the place where she lives, because Silesia emerging from her works has a cosmic aura, is peculiar and mysterious.

Over the decades, the iconography of Upper Silesia has taken its distinctive shape, dominated by the traditional black-and-white document. The presented photographic series highlight the transformation that has gradually taken place since the first decade of the 21st century.