LODZ – MULTIPLY PORTRAIT (2006-2011)
Curator: Karol Jóźwiak
Conscientious work of the portraitist, well-performed photography and a concise concept – all this is offered by the Dutch photographer Inge Hondebrink. Everything else, that is the essence of this work, is the contribution of reality itself, which adds a multi-faceted meaning to this documentation. The series of photographs can be considered to be the story of the place which transforms from the promised land into the forgotten land, the story of people who cling on to this city against all odds, fostering faith in the uniqueness of Lodz and shaping it into a creation that keeps growing into something more and more odd and mysterious.
This portrait is an intriguing issue. Interpreted in various contexts, it displays more and more content and problems. This portrait carries a mysterious relation between man and his surroundings which cannot be fully uncovered. Ukazuje nam go nie tylko takim, jakim jest, ale też takim, jakim chciałby być postrzegany. This portrait places the human being in the context of time and place, in the context of a historical event. Not only does it tell the story of the portrayed, but also depicts the entire background of the portrait, the place where the portrayed has found himself. The background of the portrait is at the same time a historical background, a certain narrative about the “here and now” of the portrayed.
Inge Hondebrink, aware of this potential of the portrait, uses it to tell a certain story. Lodz is the background for her portraits. She wishes to discover “what” this city is, this city full of contradictions and strangeness. Inge Hondebrink believes that the problem of constructing identity and the city’s specificity are most visible among painters, filmmakers, photographers, musicians and cultural activists. Each character presented in these series shows Lodz together with its complexity and problems, optimism and fondness, as well as the way in which it tries to cope with rejection and coldness. The portraits of these people are at the same time stories of entanglement in this city, of becoming, consciously or subconsciously, part of its present, of its complex ambivalent narration. The photographs of these people also reveal the subtle issues related to Lodz, the components of its aims, ambitions and successes, but also problems, failures and ingratitude.
MUZEUM KSIĄŻKI ARTYSTYCZNEJ
Tymienieckiego 24
opening hours
Mon–Sun: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
opening: 11.05, 6 p.m.
exhibition will be held: 11–20.05
