I want my projects to have a “purpose” – I want viewers to learn something from them and feel encouraged to reflect In conversation with the photographer Karolina Jonderko

Karolina Jonderko is a young and experienced photographer who won numerous prestigious awards. She focuses on documentary photography and long-term projects creating unique ways of storytelling. In our conversation, the photographer discusses the meaning of World Press Photo award, internship at Magnum Photos and subjects addressed in her projects.

Patrycja Głusiec: This April you won the second prize in the long-term projects section of the prestigious World Press Photo for the series of photographs titled “Reborn.” What does this award mean to you and what opportunities does it offer?

Karolina Jonderko: I’ve always dreamt about winning World Press Photo. It’s the Oscars of photography. I’ve never taken any photographs with the intention of pandering to competition judges. My impression was that my projects and the way I take my pictures run counter to the style of press photography represented by World Press Photo. Hence my immense surprise and joy at the win of the second prize in the long-term projects section. I’m very happy that my six-year work on the reborn babies was appreciated.

I’m not sure about the opportunities. I look forward to some big changes.

I spent six years working on “Reborn” often at the expense of other, more commercial projects. The project was self-financed. A number of websites and magazines reached out to me after the announcement of competition results wanting to publish my photographs, usually for free in order to supposedly promote my work. It’s all very representative of what it means to be a professional photographer in Poland. It’s my profession and that’s how I want to make a living. However it turns out that even World Press Photo has no bearing on the market value of one’s work.

What matters to me the most is the fact that I left my mark in the history of photography. It sounds grandiose, I know, but I’m filled with pride and powerful drive when I realize that I’m one of only five female photographers from Poland who have won this award since 1955 (the year World Press Photo started). I can only hope more women will be recognized in this competition.

PG: The Reborn series portrays the people who live with dolls bearing a striking resemblance to new-born babies. The project’s description mentions your intention to portray emotions evoked by babies. How did you come up with this subject?

KJ: I happened to see this BBC documentary “My Fake Baby” while I was visiting my sister in England back in 2012. My initial thought when I saw the doll was that it must have an amazing therapeutic value. And it does. My research indicates that some owners collect these dolls for their value since each reborn is unique and one-of-a-kind. Still, I was more interested in the group having the dolls as part of their therapy. The majority of my long-term projects deals with loss, not only loss of a baby or infertility, but also different manifestations of anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Holding a baby in one’s arms releases endorphins, so it has a calming effect. It turns out the same result is achieved by interacting with an artificial reborn baby.

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PG: Why did you decide to investigate this phenomenon? How long did it take for you to finish this project?

KJ: Like I mentioned before, I was fascinated by the therapeutic value of this object. I wanted to examine how it affects the owners and why did they purchase it. Everyone has a different way of coping with loss and trauma. For me personally, it was wearing clothes of my deceased mother as part of the series “Self-portrait with My Mother.” The fact that it had a therapeutic effect on the viewers came to me as a surprise. This project made me realize the degree to which photography can actually influence people. I want my projects to have a “purpose,” I want viewers to learn something from them and feel encouraged to reflect. I took the first photograph for the series “Reborn” in 2015 and still continue to take more. The project is yet to come to an end.

PG: You took the internship at the world’s most iconic photography agency – Magnum Photos in New York. Could you please tell us briefly how did you end up there?

KJ: In 2015, I entered the competition Magnum Photos & Ideas Tap. The competition had three stages: first we had to submit our portfolios. Only nineteen out of nine hundred photographers were selected to attend the consultation with their mentors and members of Magnum Photos. My mentor was the late Peter Merlow. Peter helped me choose five photographs that would be displayed on the exhibition in London. We also discussed the project that I would make in the upcoming three months if I were selected to move on to the next round. After the London exhibit, there were only nine photographers left in the running, including yours truly. The project I was going to work on was “Reborn,” so I spent these months taking photographs ultimately shown at the gallery in London. Prior the art show every contestant had a meeting with the members of a jury where they had to describe their project. I took a doll of one of my project participants to the presentation. The jury was so fascinated! Until this day, I admit half-jokingly that the doll gave me this win. I was one of the three competition winners and the prize was an internship at Magnum Photos in New York.

My internship in New York was an amazing experience. Every day, as I took an hour-long walk to the Magnum agency, I felt so grateful for being where I was. Not so long ago I was suffering from depression, staring at the ceiling for hours on end, and now I landed a dream job in the city that never sleeps.

PG: What did you do as part of this training and what did you manage to learn?

KJ: My tasks as an intern included cataloging or photographing collectible and press prints. Other agency employees had a blast looking just how much joy did this seemingly mundane task bring me. But cataloguing pictures transported me back in time. They depicted wars, protests, presidents, actors and sportsmen – all the historic events captured by Magnum photographers ever since the agency was founded. I had a chance to meet some of them. Bruce Gilden, Matt Black or Hiroji Kubota were all frequent visitors. My co-workers were also amazing. I even stayed at the agency a few weeks longer than stated in my contract. I have lots of fond memories from that time.

PG: Coming back to the previous question, let’s stay on the subject of photographic agencies. You’ve been a member of Napo Images since 2016. What does it mean to a photographer to be a part/member of an agency?

KJ: It probably depends who you ask. In my case, it means support and sense of security, which are very important to me personally. Photographers at Napo Images are these types of people – the ones I can always rely on, reach out to and ask for help with anything, not only photography. We’re a group of friends and that’s what I value the most.

PG: Your work often centers on the issue of overcoming loss, including the project “Reborn.” Would you say that it’s easier to tell the story of loss through the image?

KJ: I lost seven closest members of my family in the years 2008-2011. The feeling of immeasurable loss and bereavement was overbearing. As an introvert, I find it difficult to express my emotions. I tried to stay strong…up to a certain point. One of the participants of a project I made in collaboration with the Itaka Foundation said that those who stay strong too long succumb to depression. And that’s how it was with me. A combination of photography and traditional therapy helped me come to terms with these powerful emotions.

PG: Which project on this subject was especially important to you and why?

KJ: My first series of photographs with therapeutic properties was “Self-portrait with My Mother” that allowed me to reconcile myself with my mother’s passing. I didn’t realize it would resonate so strongly among other people as I was making it. That’s how it all started. Working on all my projects stirs up intense emotions – meeting people, learning about their stories and the ways in which they overcome trauma is incredibly moving and therapeutic. Sometimes I feel like I’m more of a psychologist than a photographer. I can’t detach myself from a photographed subject. For instance, I’m currently staying in Mexico – indigenous people wear extraordinarily diverse outfits, they are beautiful and fascinating. Yet I don’t know Spanish well enough to get to know them better, as well as their stories, so as a result I’m unable to take their portraits. It pains me a great deal.

PG: Could you share with us how did the pandemic influence your professional plans as a photographer? What are you working on right now?

KJ: I had to suspend work on the project “Reborn” due to a limited contact with other people in the pandemic. I was going to photograph seniors in the elderly care facilities that use dolls as forms of therapy. Fortunately, I managed to create a series of photographs about mental illness in collaboration with the Itaka Foundation. The exhibition “Just like Us” could be viewed at the Warsaw Central Station. Soon, the photographs will be also put on display during the festivals in Sopot, Rybnik and Opole, so feel free to stop by and take a look.

Edited by Anna Shostak and Katarzyna Boch

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