Normality

According to one of the dictionary definitions, “normality” means “living according to established, known laws and customs”. This applies both to humans and to other animals living in herds. Normality unites, sustains the community, and gives meaning thereto. One can rebel against particular manifestations of normality, but without it, one could not imagine a long-lasting group.

There is no one normality. It is being determined at different levels, from legal systems to children’s games. Insofar as we live actively, we are exposing ourselves to confrontation with others, and to evaluation by social standards. Hence, often exaggeratedly, people are accused of being “abnormal”. Encountering a normality other than the one we are used to may trigger admiration, disgust, repression, and many other reactions. Sometimes these confrontations amaze us, and, from the point of view of the photographer, may “wake us up” to notice the moment that we waited for: the aberration may be perceived as especially worthy of preserving in a photography.

On other occasions, we are able to see that which is normal for us in a special, distanced perception. This certainly occurs especially when attempting to photograph something. The act of taking a photo makes us observe the normal life “from the outside”: to look at events from a distance, in order to create an interesting image

The photos presented at this exhibition are representations of selected moments from the last dozen or so years of my life. They portray meetings with animals, with my family, and other folks, in various community relationships.

Artist: Paweł Sokołowski