Karolina Gembara | A Mind of Winter

A Mind of Winter by Karolina Gembara is a long-term artistic investigation into forced migration in Central and Eastern Europe after the Second World War. Rooted in personal and regional histories of Lower Silesia, the work shifts attention away from official narratives toward intimate, fragmented memories shaped by displacement.

From time to time, invisible borders are moved – or dissolve altogether – forcing people to leave their homes behind. Reduced to faceless “numbers,” their experiences risk being flattened, their human dimension overlooked. Gembara’s work restores this perspective, tracing emotions, losses, and the lasting impact of exile across family lines.

Developed over more than a decade, the project combines speculative documentary photography with archival research and family histories. Designed as a spatial photography-based installation, the Bałucka Gallery exhibition focuses on selected aspects of Gembara’s substantial project, juxtaposing the elusive notion of trauma and postmemory with a tangible world of physical objects passed through generations.

Exhibition curator: Grażyna Siedlecka

Exhibition partner: The City Art Gallery in Łódź – Bałucka Gallery

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» GET TO KNOW THE ARTIST «

Karolina Gembara is an artist, researcher, and curator. She works with photography, film, short video forms, and video installation. Her practice focuses on the relationships between personal and collective memory, migration, social engagement, and practices of care. She is a doctoral candidate at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, where she researches post-war displacement and strategies for filling archival gaps through critical fabulation. Her work has been presented in Berlin, Utrecht, Budapest, and Belgrade, as well as at Manifesta 14 and Fotografia Europea, among others. She is a member of Sputnik Photos and the Archive of Public Protests. She has carried out participatory projects with migrants in Warsaw, bridging art, research, and social action. She has published and lectured extensively in the fields of photography and visual studies.