Karczebs
In one of the dialects spoken in the east of Poland, which is a mixture of Polish and Belorussian, people strongly attached to the soil cultivated from generations were called “Karczebs”. Karczebs cleared forests with their bare hands in order to grow crops. The word Karczeb was also used to describe what remains after a tree is cut down – a trunk with roots, which remains stuck in the ground. It also applied to people – it was not easy for the authorities to root Karczebs out from their land, even in the Stalinism times. The price they paid for their attachment to their soil was often their freedom or life. After death, buried nearby his farmland, Karczeb became the soil himself – the soil cultivated later by his descendants.
Adam Panczuk – (1978) lives in Warsaw. In his work he travels to wherever he finds an interesting subject. He studied at the University of Economics and photography at the Multimedia Communication Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. With his projects Pańczuk seems to be asking questions, at the same time directly and metaphorically, about identity, consciousness and attitude towards life of the people he meets along the way. His unique skill to tell gripping yet intimate stories with images has won him many prestigious awards including Best Photography Book Award in the 71st annual Pictures of the Year International for “Karczeby”, Magnum Expression Award, Grand Press Photo, PHotoEspana (PHE) OjodePez Award, Newsweek Poland Photo. He published in: National Geographic, Newsweek, British Journal of Photography, Le Monde, Esquire, OyodePez, Geo Magazine, Polityka , Malemen, DF Gazeta Wyborcza. Adam is a member of Sputnik Photos and is represented by La galierie particuliere and Picturetank, Paris, France.
Awards:
- Best Photography Book Award in the 71st annual Pictures of the Year International for “Karczeby” nominated in the First Photobook of the Year at the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2013
- Pictures of the Year International, II prize for picture story in category Portrait Series
- Magnum Expression Award 1st Honorable Mention
- Lens Culture International Exposure Awards Honorable Mention Award
- PHotoEspana (PHE) OjodePez Award for Human Values, Finalist
- Sony World Photography Awards Finalist in category Fine Art Portratuire
- National Geographic Photography Contest I prize in category Culture
- Photographer of the Year 2004 BBC News Finalist in category Street life
18-28 September, Photoville, NYC
Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 5 Uplands
19 September, 6:00 pm – artist talk and slideshow „Polish Photography”
www.fotofestiwal.com/2014/en/photopoland-contemporary-polish-photography-in-new-york
