Michał Szlaga (born 1978), a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, made his debut with a series of staged self-portraits with the common title What Made Me? (2002), in which he appears in such historical roles as a Nazi, a Jew, a Catholic priest, a member of the communist Citizen’s Militia, and a Red Army soldier.
Following his graduation, he has systematically documented Polish reality using the convention of blog photography (Reality, 2007) and documentary typology (Prostitutes, 2010).
Since 2000, he has returned obsessively in his work to the subject of the Gdańsk shipyards, regarded as the place of the birth, rise and fall of the Solidarity (Solidarność) labour movement and an example of a once great, prospering shipbuilding industry, the remains of which should today be saved in photographs. For Szlaga, the shipyard is a constantly changing post-industrial architectural landscape; a landscape he documents using photography and video. Collaboration with the Wyspa Institute of Art located on the premises of the Gdańsk shipyard permitted the photographer to present his works in important contemporary art exhibitions (Dock Guardians, 2005; Again and Again 1989–2009, 2009). For the last few years the majority of the artist’s photographs appearing in galleries have been connected with the shipyard, including portraits of leaders of the Solidarity opposition movement (among others, Anna Walentynowicz, Tadeusz Mazowiecki and prelate Henryk Jankowski).
Embeded gallery style
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Also worthy of attention are Szlaga’s works that were completed in collaboration with the visual artist Piotr Uklański, and the Global Prosperity project (2010–2011), which he put together with the journalist and traveller Max Cegielski. Global Prosperity documents an expedition to India, following the route taken by ships made in the Gdańsk shipyard and scrapped in the town of Alang on the Indian Ocean coast. Cegielski’s text and Szlaga’s photographs fall somewhere between art and socially engaged journalism, and offer a special kind of metaphor for the global capitalist order.
Szlaga’s photojournalism and individual photographs have been frequently awarded in Poland and abroad (among others International Photo Awards 2007). Michał Szlaga is also known as a photographer of celebrities, working with such Polish magazines as Malemen, Przekrój, Newsweek, Twój Styl and Viva!.
In 2013-14, Szlaga started working on several new projects, such as Aleja Solidarności (Solidarność Avenue) – about commemorating the Solidarity movement across Poland, and Odyseja (Odyssey) – a documentation of a sailing venture (carried out in collaboration with Tomasz Kopcewicz).
szlaga.com
Individual Exhibitions
2014
- Documents of Loss Europäischen Monats der Fotografie, Polnisches Institut Berlin
- Szlaga wrócił do szkoły / Kilka odsłon (Szlaga Went Back Into School / Several Editions), Gdańsk City Gallery 2 - Annex
- Aleja Solidarności (Solidarność Avenue), Wieliszew
2013
- Paskudne pocztówki (Ugly Postcards), together with IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2011
- Stocznia Gdańska (The Gdańsk Shipyard), Transfotografia Północ Festival, PiTiPa Gallery, Gdańsk
- Pikselowe prostytutki (Prostitutes), 1st Photography Festival in Opole, Opole, Poland
- Stocznia Gdańska (The Gdańsk Shipyard), Contenedores de Arte, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- Stocznia Gdańska (The Gdańsk Shipyard), Transphotographiques Nord Festival, ŕ La Maison de la Photographie, Lille
2010
- Alang/Gdańsk Global Properity, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2008
- Stocznia Gdańska (The Gdańsk Shipyard), 7 Łódź Fotofestival
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014
- Polish Dream, Galerie für Fotografie, Hannover
- 4th Mediations Biennale, Zamek Culture Centre, Poznań
- Wędrująca biblioteka (Travelling Library), Günter Grass Gallery, Gdańsk
- TYPOPOLO, Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw
- Blackout, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2013
- The Collection. A Fagment, CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
2012
- Buildings and Remnants, Fábrica ASA, Guimarăes, Portugal
- ALTERNATIVA, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
- Missing Documents. Photographs of the Polish Transformation After 1989, CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
2011
- Street Photography Now, Fundacja.DOC, Warsaw
- E.CITE–GDAŃSK, Apollonia Gallery, Strasbourg
- ALTERNATIVA, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2009
- Over and Over Again, BWA Wrocław
- Game for Freedom, Gdańsk
2008
- Red Eye Effect, CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw
- Upgrade PL, Photomonth in Kraków
- Renovation Department, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
- The Impossible Collection, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2007
- Modelarnia, Warszawski Aktyw Artystów
- Model Ad Hoc, IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
- Fotografowie Przekroju (Przekrój's Photographers), Transfotografia Festival, CSW Łaźnia, Gdańsk
2005
- Poland Now, Photomonth in Kraków
- Strażnicy doków (Guardians of the Docks), IS Wyspa, Gdańsk
2004
2003
- Artyści przeciw wojnie (Artists Against War), Kolonia Artystów, Gdańsk
2002
- Znajomi nad morza (Friends from the Seaside), 89a hall, Gdańsk
2001
- Labirynt/The Labirynth, Kłodzko
Awards and Honourable Mentions
2014
- Pomeranian Arts Award for achievements in 2013
- Splendor Gedanensis - the City of Gdańsk Award in the field of Culture
2013
- The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Creative Grant
2012
- Grand Press Foto, Warsaw, 1st Prize
- BZ WBK Press Foto, Warsaw, 1st Prize
2010
- BZ WBK Press Foto, Warsaw, 3rd Prize
2007
- International Photography Awards, New York, 1st Prize
- Grand Press Foto, Warsaw, 3rd Prize
- Newsreportage, Warsaw, 1st Prize
2006
- Artistic Scholarship from the Marshal of Pomeranian Voivodeship
- Canon Press Photography Contest, Warsaw, 3rd Prize
2005
- BZ WBK Press Foto, Warsaw, Honourable Mention
- Grand Press Photo, Warsaw, Honourable Mention
2004
- Gdańsk Press Photo, Gdańsk, Grand Prix