Magdalena Lasota and Sławomir Okrzesik are a couple of photographers from Wroclaw. This is where they have their studio and where they make a living taking photos. "Here, for example, we have lamps that we are taking photos of now", said Sławek, pointing at a stylish "object" standing in the corner. "This is what we do: we take photos of people and objects. We like our jobs and this project is intended to let us "come back to life". We both studied at artistic universities and we know that each photograph needs to have a message. Unfortunately, studio photos are often "empty"; hence the idea to invite various people, to talk to them, to get to know then, and only then to sit them in front of the camera and take photos - this is what the BREathing WROclaw is all about.
Magdalena Lasota and Sławomir Okrzesik, the authors of the BREathing WROclaw project
Because everyone has something in them
Almost 200 persons have participated in the project so far. "Some photos and descriptions still need to be processed and posted on our website because I have to admit that recently we've had many new participants", said Magda. "Anyone can volunteer, although we still have to 'round them up'", she laughed. "I simply come to a person that I find interesting and I invite him or her to participate in the project. As for volunteers, most of them are women; men are probably more reserved. Interestingly, when I ask them to participate in the project, they agree instantaneously", she added.
"The Breathing Wroclaw project enables to show that every person has something interesting in them. We first talk with every person we invite and ask him or her to tell us about himself or herself. It's not about telling us the story of their liver as we most often select one thing that characterizes the person", said Sławek. "There was this guy, Michał, for example, who said that there was nothing interesting about him, that he had nothing to tell us etc. As we continued our conversation, it turned out that he was "crazy" about tattoos and beer. So this was what we based our "interview" and our photo session on", said Sławek. "We do not focus on people's appearance or hobbies. Sometimes a good story is enough. The other day we had UNESCO volunteers who came to Wroclaw to spend some time here. One of them was Lorenco, an Italian who, as it turned out, came to Poland to get to know the country where he was born. As a little child, he was adopted from an orphanage in Białystok by an Italian family.
Photographic triptychs
The Breathing Wroclaw project consists of three parts. "We present people in the form of triptychs. The first part is a studio photograph. We come up with gadgets, we make them pose in specific way and this is how we present our photographic vision of the person", said Magda. "The second part is a documentary style photo. We meet the project participant in his home, office, or a place that he visits the most often. This photo must look as natural as possible. We want to show how the person exists in his or her own reality. The third part is a description - everyone needs to write something about themselves", explained Magda.
"We have started dividing people into categories, such as sportsmen, artists, people of interesting vocations, and reenactors", said Sławek. However, as the authors of the project admit, assigning people to specific categories is not easy because every participant is unique. "For example, there was this Asia, ha tea sommelier. She probably knows everything about tea. When she came, out of habit I offered her... tea and then I realized that probably my instant tea would taste terrible to her", laughed Magda. "Also, there was a guy that I ran met in the street. He looked, to be honest, quite dangerous. He was a very solidly-built man, with tattoos and... a very serious facial expression. I asked Sławek to be here when I take his studio photos. However, when he came, he turned out to be a very nice and kind person. A very kind-hearted person. This project proves to us that you can't judge the book by its cover", admitted Magda.
Exhibition in the plans
The project started in May this year and, according to the initial plans, is to last for one year. "However, we might make it longer or shorter. It will all turn out. We know for sure that at the end of the project we will organize an exhibition of all the triptychs. We would also like to publish an album, but that requires money", said Magda. "We take all the photos for free, at no cost to the participants", she added.
"Officials from the City Promotion Office of the Wroclaw City Council expressed their interest in our project and we are discussing a new project that may be performed in parallel to the Breathing Wroclaw project. However, we've just started our discussions", said Sławek.
Of note is the fact that the Breathing Wroclaw project won the Internet users' award during this year's Blog Day 2014 contest.
New volunteers are still accepted, but they may have to wait even for a month for the photo session because of the long queue. More information can be found at BREathing WROclaw.
ulaj
