In the photo series “Portrait of the Provinces” there is an attempt to show the current portrait of Poles living outside large urban centres in small towns (up to 30,000) and in villages throughout the country, in all provinces. The entire project was motivated by the question, what defines Polish provinces through the eyes of its citizens? Being aware of the inevitability of globalization and unification process which will undoubtedly change the reality for the Polish provinces, I wanted to, after what Zofia Rydet said, preserve the current time to consolidate what has already changed and what does no longer exist, and will in a short time be difficult to imagine. In addition to photographs, taken in large format 4x5 cameras, the stories about the lives of heroes in particular times and places have been written. The presented photos are just a small selection of the project. Work on “Portrait of the Provinces” was launched in 2010 and is still continuing. Some of the photographs were made with a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Jacenty Dędek