In his series of square black-and-white images, the photographer depicted traces of time and human presence in the Polish provinces.
Zjeżdżałka used sedimentation – a geological term to define the accumulation of sediments – as a metaphor for different, overlapping temporal layers in the provincial Polish landscape. The series consists of photographs taken between 2000 and 2008.
His approach to photographing the Polish landscape was simple and realist, as if pointing his finger towards a house interior, an old factory, an elementary school classroom. The artist captured realistic, unpretentious scenes, limiting his means of expression in order to facilitate a first-hand experience.
Zjeżdżałka was fond of details and geometrical compositions, and fascinated by landscapes of the transformation period. Sedimentation contains old adverts and objects, crumbling plaster and ageing wallpaper, in short – traces of human presence which evoke the past. Describing his chosen settings, he said:
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I was always attracted to places which accumulated time. Although I rather avoided the direct presence of humans, some of their traces would always be present.
Author
Photorealism exhibition catalogue
In the work of a photographer who focuses on objects, people only ever figure amidst the details he has captured, "squeezing in where he sees a little space", to quote Piotr Sommer’s poem Indiscretions.
Originally written in Polish, translated by AG, edited by MB, Dec 2018