PHOTO PROJECT / Michał Szymko and Dominika Chmielewska / POLAND
«LEMKO. UNNAMED. BEZIMIENNI»
What kind of Lemko do you carry in yourself? Do you know where you are from, and do you remember your roots?
The project «Lemko. Unnamed» leads through various spheres and periods of Lemko life: birth — life — deportation — sadness— return / knowledge of a new life-death emptiness / memory. Artists bring abandoned villages to life by using collage style.
Photos taken in 2020 show that Lemko Region has disappeared forever. Using archive photos of the lemkos, the creators wonder what would have happened if the deportation had never happened. Would people and their huts be everywhere in the surrounding landscape?
Photos taken in 2020 show that Lemko Region has disappeared forever. Using archive photos of the lemkos, the creators wonder what would have happened if the deportation had never happened. Would people and their huts be everywhere in the surrounding landscape?
Today Lemkos are one of the four officially recognized ethnic minorities in Poland. According to the previous national census of 2002, the Lemko's population was around 5,850.
In nearby Neznajew, Lesser Poland, you can find a vast and empty valley, where a fairly large village of Lemkos was before the war had started.
The most tragic period in the Lemko's history was the Second World War. This was the time of the actual liquidation of this nation. The resettlement actions in 1944-46 affected about 65% of the population.
Red circle is a metaphor which creates new step in Lemko's life. In culture, the circle symbolizes God, law, infinity, absolute, eternity, perfection, inner unity, harmony, balance, precision, completeness, sky, sun, soul, spiritual element, female element, time, protection from demons. This takes the viewer into a non-existent, created world that modern lemkos would like to see. It is not within the territorial boundaries of the studied Subcarpathian region, but it is in the hearts and memories of the Lemkos who live there.
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Mediacongress is a place of meetings, conversations and finding yourself anew. For me, as a man working in the cultural sector, it was very important to be able to present myself at The Hermitage Museum. It is the most important museum in the world. Thanks to the trip to Pskov, I was able to get to know Russia and the Russians better and thus write a series of articles that showed Poles this beautiful country.
MICHAŁ SZYMKO
Art historian and journalist, doctoral student at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin in the field of Cultural studies. He is preparing a doctoral dissertation on the problem of identity in Lemko and Ruthenian naive art. He publishes in the largest Polish magazines whiteMAD, Uroda Życia, Podróże, Zwykłe Życie.
In 2019, he published a reporter's book «Far / Close. Stories about how to catch up with the world».
In 2019, he published a reporter's book «Far / Close. Stories about how to catch up with the world».
To contact Michal
— What prompted you to create the project «Lemko. Nameless»?
A project is very important for me, talking about Lemkos, the «Vistula» campaign, abandoned villages and assimilations with Poles. It is very personal to me. My dad is Lemko, he was looking for his identification for a long time. Dad drove us every time, he was a huge treasure trove of knowledge and a guide where it all started. Just like his grandmother and grandfather, who were deported as part of the «Vistula» campaign — they came back and put root in him that had been dormant for many years. And who will talk about Lemkos if not the younger generations?
— You have already participated in the «Dialogue of Cultures» last year, what were your first impressions of the Hermitage and St. Petersburg?
The possibility of being on Mediacongress was extremely developing for me. I met many journalists whose passions inspired me a lot. I would like it to be a meeting this year as well.
DOMINIKA CHMIELEWSKA
Third-year graphic student at the Social Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. She is passionate about branding and creating visual identities. In her work, she most often uses the form of a broadly understood collage.
She published in Wizje, Szajn, Stoner Polski, ŚSG, Drobiazgach. She created illustrations for the book «Far / Close» by Michał Szymko.
She published in Wizje, Szajn, Stoner Polski, ŚSG, Drobiazgach. She created illustrations for the book «Far / Close» by Michał Szymko.
To contact Dominika
— Why did you choose the collage format to visualize the idea?
Why a collage? Because it is a really simple form of artistic expression, available to everyone. For this you don't need to know any special techniques, no theories. Collages can help you reach your subconscious, understand stories. A collage is giving new life to an old form. This is also what this project is like.
— How did the pandemic affect the project preparation process?
The pandemic helped us a lot in creating the project. Through isolation and closure, we were able to penetrate the subject more, give it our whole self.
And do you remember your roots?