Author: Adam Pańczuk, picture from the "Karczeby" series
The photographic series In the Rhythm of the Land portrays the people of Poland's eastern regions who are strongly attached to the soil. Adam Pańczuk’s work is presented at the ImageSingulières festival in Sète, on the coast of the Languedoc-Roussillon region
Offering a showcase of international photographers, the fifth edition of the ImageSingulières festival follows the spirit of Blaise Cendras, who in his last novel wrote "Take me to the end of the world". Adam Pańczuk shows his work from eastern Poland alongside photographers including Roger Ballen, an American photographer living in South Africa for the last thirty years, and Claire Martin, a young Australian from Perth who presents three series about marginalized communities in Australia, the U.S. and Canada. Pańczuk presents two series in black and white: Karczeby and In the Rhythm of the Land.
Strongly attached to the land that they have been cultivating for generations, the Karczeb people inhabiting certain areas of the eastern lands of Poland. The word denotes their dialect - a mixture of Polish and Belorussian - and their nature, as the word describes the remains of a tree that has been cut down - a stump with roots, which remains planted in the ground. The Karczebs cleared forests by hand in order to grow crops, and were known for resisting pressure in the Stalinist era to leave their lands - a devotion that many paid for with their lives.
Pańczuk’s large format, staged images portray farmers putting down their roots in their native region. Many changes have been carried out since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, but little has changed in the east of the country, where the Karczeb continue to live in tune with their traditions.
Born in Biała Podlaska in 1978, Adam Pańczuk graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. The Karczeby series has received international prizes including the Magnum Expression Award, the Grand Press Photo Award, the Sony World Photo Award (2009), PhotoEspana (PHE), OjodePez Award for Human Values and BZWBK PressPhoto.
The ImageSingulières festival takes place in locations around the harbor town of Sète since 2009. Panczuk’s photography is exhibitewd at the Salle Tarbouriech at the De la Mer Theatre.
For more information see: ImageSingulières festival
Sources: ImageSingulières festival website, Adam Panczuk website, original article by DB for culture.pl
Editor: MJ 20.05.2013