Michał Sita – History of Poland

History of Poland

2018-2024

Murowana Goślina, Poland

Every year, over 300 people toil for several months to stage and re-enact some of the key episodes of Polish national and catholic history: the Baptism of Poland, military victories over Ottoman Turks, Nazi executions of children, and Pope John Paul II’s pastoral visit to Poland. The authors of those open-air shows draw pictorial inspiration from the paintings by Jacek Malczewski, Artur Grottger, and especially Jan Matejko.

Initially, Michał Sita witnessed these performances as a photographer. With time, he became an active participant, wearing a small camera around his neck to document the spectacle from the perspective of the actor.

Recording events from Polish history as seen through the eyes of their participants became a way of reflecting on how we choose to lend meaning to the past through participatory action.

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» GET TO KNOW THE ARTIST «

With a degree in photography and anthropology, Michał Sita explores social memory and the role of photography in addressing the social uses of the past in contemporary Poland. 

He is an author of several books and has vast experience as a writer of critical texts on photography. Sita has also curated an interdisciplinary analysis of Wiesław Rakowski’s interwar zoological photographs, as well as a series of other exhibitions and photobook festivals.