In the last few years, public debate has seen acceptance of statements that drove us away from the goal declared in “Ode to Joy” – “all men will be brothers.” Or maybe brothers and sisters? Or simply people full of kindness and understanding. We are aware of how complex and diversified social reality is but our readiness to accept non-heteronormativity, disability or otherness in general requires improvement.
This challenge was taken up by Bartosz Kałużny, who, while implementing the DYWERS project, decided to draw our attention to the issues related to neuroatypicality, gender identity, sexuality and ethnicity. For this purpose, he gave up the privilege that every artist has: shaping their work without restrictions. The photographed people volunteered to take part in the project, gaining influence over the place and method of photography as well as the used means of expression. The photographer and the models shaped the form of visual messages through negotiations. Participation in the creation process provided the people in front of the camera with the sense of comfort and agency, and also enriched the entire project, diversifying it on many levels.
The frames kept in the convention of staged photography ooze with diversity, thanks to which they reflect the fascinating complexity of the world. The author states: “diversity should be talked about and shown”. The photographs taken as part of the DYWERS project are not only the result of a complex creative process and a source of aesthetic satisfaction, but above all, an inspiration for discussion and changing too hasty judgments and assessments that we sometimes make towards others.
Curator: Marek Domański (Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź)
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Bartosz Kałużny Nachtigal
Bartosz works as a photographer at the University of Lodz, where he mainly portrays scientists and artists. Outside of his job, he carries out commercial and auteur projects – the latter of which are most often in the field of staged photography. He is an Americanist by education with a PhD degree in Social Sciences. He studies photography at the Lodz Film School.
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Biedermann’s Palace / Wozownia Gallery 1/5, University of Lodz, Franciszkańska St.
DID YOU KNOW THAT Biedermann’s Palace witnessed some tragic events?
The Palace of Alfred Biedermann was built in 1912. Just behind it, there was a factory at the river Łódka, almost entirely damaged now. After Alfred’s death, his brother Bruno lived in the palace with his family. In January 1945, after the Soviet army entered, they were ordered to leave immediately. As a result of these events, Bruno, his wife and their daughter Maryla, who had been active in the Polish resistance during the war, took their own lives. Bruno wrote a letter: “I have shot dead my wife, my daughter and myself. Please, bury us in the garden. Do not plunder our private belongings in the house; share them in a fair manner”. The tragedy took place in room no. 208.
According to their last will, they were buried in the palace garden. After the war, a preschool daycare for children was located in the palace… In the spring of 1977, the bodies were exhumed and translocated to the Old Cemetery in Łódź (Ogrodowa Street).
