I Created Tiny Models To Photograph Them As An Illustration Of A Poem

The making process took roughly 4 months to produce 12 models and to photograph each one. The goal was to create a personal world based on a poem and my own imagination.

A set of 12 photographs is an illustration of a book by Tomasz Rozycki titled “Twelve stations” (original title “Dwanaście stacji”) published in 2004, probably the most important text in contemporary Polish literature.

The photographs show crucial scenes from the book, each representing a given chapter (or a particular author’s station), arranged in a miniature scenography which were handmade out of natural materials and ordinary items such as wire, paper-mache, plasticine, cardboard, sand, wood, dry grass and textiles. A seeming failure in achieving perfect effect of highly realistic models is intentional. The imperfection of simplified and conventional scenes is parallel to subtle caricature and irony of the Rozycki’s poem.

The idea of memory being a common element of photography and literature (a key theme of Rozycki’s book) was probably the most significant feature I wanted to preserve in this work. Both photography and literature preserve the memory of the past: while the photography adheres to perfection and realism, the literature is always about interpretation. My work combines these features – a created and personally interpreted reality in photographs.

“Twelve stations” is a poem about Poles resettled after WW2 from the East to Silesia. The biggest dream of all their life is to come back to the East. The action of the book takes place in the late 90’s when the main character, about 30-year-old Grandson, is being chosen by elder family members the leader of the family expedition to the East. But first he has to complete a mission of finding a gorget, saving an antique clock and informing and gathering all the family.

My photographs from this set can be found here: zuzwas.blogspot.com

English version of “Twelve stations”: Bill Johnston