MACIEJ GRUSZECKI: CITY LIMITED BY AIR AND COLD
scopio aboveground: city (h.mention)
These photographs are -in a way- the simples of all: it all just was there, on just one of wet winter days on one of these large concrete districts in a large city in Poland. nothing more, really. But to answer why did I take these photographs is to tell about what do I look for when taking photographs in general.
I was long thinking about that, and I think there are two main elements. one are contradictions, contrasts, oppositions.. of many many kinds. the other and more important is life. But in an indirect way -I am looking for signs of life where it is not obviously apparent, where it may not be visible at all in the first sight.
Places like this are very little inspiring or lively (they have been built all over central and eastern europe, mainly throughout the 60s, 70s and continue to expand today in slightly different shapes and materials). Yet thousands of people live in these concrete fields. There have been adjusted, sometimes in quite primitive ways, to serve many of the needs of their inhabitants. In addition to this days like this, February, on the edge of freezing temperatures, when snow mixes with rain and not the slightest traces of sunshine are visible are the least pleasant of all in the entire year. Yet the son did manage to drag his dad out to sleigh, the lady took her dog for a walk. The empty playgrounds seem not that empty. Life where and when one would not choose to live it.
The series 'Limited by Air and Cold' was taken in February 2009 in Ursynow, a large 70s/80s/90s district of Warsaw, filled with concrete blocks of flats on a typical wet and cold Polish winter day.
Technical notes:
All photographs were taken in Warsaw, Poland, in February 2009 using a medium format 6x6cm Rolleiflex 6008 camera on Ilford PAN F+ ISO50 negative; scans from negatives.
Contact
contact@maciejgruszecki.com