Some time ago, I left the home where I always knew what and how to photograph and how life works, and moved to Kraków. It is a beautiful, multilayered city, yet I felt no grounding, no sense of belonging, no understanding of its cultural context.
In an attempt to activate the process of adaptation, I began to create “special places” for myself. I chose what has always been most healing for me — the natural landscape — and created a series of installations. These objects became a kind of memory “hooks” which, I believe, can serve as points of support — instead of the events and memories connected to my former home and youth.
In these works, I used gold. With it, I could register what is present, visually separate one part of the landscape from another, and create personal “treasures.”
Can one create a sense of belonging to a new place in this way? I’m not sure. But I believe it is possible to create a space of significance — a place where one can lawfully pause, remember, or not, and perhaps feel a sense of connection.