Showcasing the graduates of the Sputnik Photos Mentoring Programme 2023/2024. More photos will be on display at the
exhibition in Warsaw, starting 26 April, 2025.
Growing up, I did not experience social formatting in such intensity and richness of its forms as some of us defined by the symbol ♀. Reality did not constantly remind me – loudly and consistently – that I should smile since anger detracts from beauty. No wonder. In the end, I am living in a world that to a large extent has been arranged for me, a man. This world consists of various power systems, where children are usually the most vulnerable link. It is the youngest who are the most susceptible to their impact, they are also the easiest to harm. Where the mechanisms of the system fall short, we – parents, adults, and peers – step in. Diligently, we conform to and replicate the norms that have left their mark on us. How often do we unconsciously perpetuate them? How many of us reach out for oppressive patterns, and for what purpose? How long does it take for the effects of such formatting to fade away and disappear?
All the photographs used in my collages were taken by my grandfather. They depict his daughters: my mother and aunt. This project is a personal reflection on marks and traces that oppressive mechanisms have left in my surroundings, my family and in me.
