Wapno - plener [2.]

Wapno, Wągrowiec district, VIVA Club.

Photo: own technique - scanning the imprint on paper of the light sensitive layer from Fujifilm FP-3000B Professional Polaroid print (8.5x10.8 cm), Hasselblad 503CW camera, photo format 6x6 cm.

The town, for which the salt mine was a guarantee of development and better future, suddenly stood on the edge of its existence. From that moment, in October 1977, it stopped developing, a significant part of the population was resettled to other regions of Piła Province, those who remained faced the fact that there will be no more development, no better life associated with the mine. Fear has arisen that what is happening underground, somewhere very deep, as a result of reckless human actions, full of ambition and pride in the laws of nature, focused on profit and efficiency, poses a constant threat. Fatality has hung over the area for many decades, and the abandoned mine buildings towering over the surroundings are a grim threat that the dormant forces of nature may at any time unleash their destructive power. Nemesis may demand its revenge.

And so you have to live in that fear for several decades now.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Wapno - plener [1.]

Wapno, area Wągrowiec, a closed, former rock salt mine.

Photo: own technique - scanning the imprint on paper of the light sensitive layer from Fujifilm FP-3000B Professional Polaroid print (8.5x10.8 cm), Hasselblad 503CW camera, photo format 6x6 cm.

In the village of Wapno, located near W±growiec, mining began in 1828 and in the beginning gypsum was the raw material. After finding salt deposits in the village since the third quarter of the 19th century mining began to develop, which undoubtedly influenced the fate of the village in the 20th century. It was connected with a huge extraction of salt deposits in Wapno, which between 1950 and 1965 constituted almost half of the rock salt extraction in Poland. Risky exploitation led to a violent disaster, which took place on August 5, 1977 and caused flooding of one of the levels of the mine. This caused the creation of a sinkhole, which on October 28 began to gradually engulf the center of the village, residential buildings, part of the railroad station. 1,400 residents were evacuated. The mine, which had contributed so much to the development of the village, became its nemesis.

Znalezisko

Warsaw, Łazienki palace park, author no., February / March 2018 ; Fujifilm instax instant photo, image area 6x4.5 cm,

In the digital age, when photos exist only as collections of zero-one information stored on memory cards in smartphones, tablets and hard drives in computers, and can be seen on liquid crystal screens, it is nice to find a photo on the street by accident in the form of a paper. You don't need electricity or batteries to see them, because a traditional photo is an image created by the world itself, through a negative or other photosensitive film, which becomes a kind of gap, creating a distance and delay between the object and the image. At this point, the intersection of two separate processes takes place, which are already happening spontaneously with the help of the incident light through the open shutter of the camera. The first belongs to the field of chemistry and it is the action of light on certain substances, while the second belongs to the field of physics and it is the formation of an image through an optical device on the negative plane. The image formed on the photosensitive membrane becomes a synthesis of these two processes. As Jean Baudrillard wrote in his last essay, the digital age destroyed the photographic image: "The end of the special presence of an object, because it can now be produced in a numerical mode. No more the unique moment of the photographic act, because the image can be immediately removed or transformed. ...) The photographic act was a moment of the simultaneous temporary disappearance of the subject and the object in an instant confrontation, because the shutter button lifted the world for a moment together with its gaze, its activation meant a syncopia, "little death", releasing the mechanical perfection and efficiency of the image - this moment, however, disappeared in process of digital and numerical processing ".

A numerical image - or perhaps calling it a synthetic image after Baudrillard - therefore it can no longer exist as a self-contained image, it needs hardware, software and electricity to exist. Its autonomy fades and it becomes a derivative of some kind of instruction, the effect of the aromatic operation of a computer program, which is responsible for the automatic process of image production itself, and then its storage on a digital medium. The problem often arises that due to a media or software error, the image becomes a useless file of digital information that means nothing. It only shows on the device screen as error. The situation is even worse in the case of the lack of electrical power in the device, because then - a bit contrary to the question contained in the title of the quoted essay - everything digital will disappear due to the lack of its availability.

A photo, a photographic image, is also simply an object in its material form and shape, with a specific texture and even a smell that can sometimes be accidentally found on the sidewalk during a winter walk.

quote from: Jean Baudrillard, Why hasn't everything gone away yet? The last essay, Warsaw 2009.

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Crosscarpatia tour 2003 [4.]

Slovakia, Bardejov, September 2003; Ilford Pan 100 negative scan, frame size 6x9 cm; camera: Ercona II.

Crosscarpatia tour 2003r. [ trasa: Presov - Bardejov - Humenne - Michalovce - Użhorod - Mukaczewo - Czerniowce - Chocim - Kamieniec Podolski]

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An excerpt from my travel journal: Saturday, September 6, 2003

I left Michalovice at 8.50 by SAD bus (ticket 68 SK, luggage 30 SK). The journey was quick and smooth. After all, it was only 40 km to the border. We were in Uzhhorod even before noon, after a short stop at the border, there were only a couple of Slovaks on the bus, me and the rest of the Ukrainians (about 25 people). The bus passed through the city and stopped at the concrete maneuvering square of the bus station, next to the train station. The first impression after getting off the bus is a sense of alienation that you are an intruder in this place. Everyone seems to be looking at me and seeing that I am a stranger. In a way, this is true, because I was carrying a large backpack on my back, and the locals use the system of large canvas bags during their travels, just like friends from Polish markets. Fortunately, I could see Hotel Uzgorod from the bus windows and knew where to go to find some accommodation.

There were some problems to change cash, finally Saturday, in one hotel they even started looking for a local money changer, but I think he took a lunch break. In front of the department store "Ukraine", on the main street from the train station, a few guys were also doing this job. Well, exchange offices still have the usual door-to-door competition. Finally, I exchanged money at the exchange office in the hotel where I stayed. On the way to the hotel, I meet three guys, also with large backpacks, we exchange smiles as we pass each other. Yes, tourists too, it will turn out that our roads will cross.

The first impressions from Ukraine were perhaps a bit filled with the feeling of alienation in a strange city, with wide avenues and blocks of flats smelling of socialist realism, but the station and hotel are located on the left bank of the Uzh river, developed and built in a typical Soviet style. Wide brochures filled with swirling cars (also the newest BMW and Mercedes with tinted windows and good Lads, also with such glass - first thought: strangers not to see these blondes inside), planted with trees, trade in large pavilions covered with makeshift stalls. And those long distances - at least for me, who is on foot. On the sides of the avenue, there are only commercial blocks and pavilions. It is true that the ground floors of the blocks are also already adapted for commercial and service purposes and modernity is also entering there, but with a color palette, new materials, garish inscriptions and signs, inspired by patterns from Western Europe.

When you go through the city alone, additionally with a heavy backpack, the great spaces and distances that you have to travel, planned with the Soviet panache, begin to be depressing. The individual in such a space is a small, fragile "pollen" meaningless. It is not without reason that there are so many buses, private marshals and taxis driving around the city. A person feels completely different on the other side of the river, there is a normal city in the dimension of European civilization. A normal, charming town with cobbled streets, tenement houses, churches and Orthodox churches. You can feel this Austro-Hungarian atmosphere here, even in space, with later modernist inclusions from the Czechoslovak interwar period. Such a small multicultural melting pot. This fragment of the urban space reflects the history of this region, but in the layout of the city I sense some chaos, something disturbing.

I visited the open-air museum of Transcarpathian Folk Architecture, located on the castle hill, in the late afternoon. Several complete homesteads from the Transcarpathian region are gathered, a wooden church, a mill, etc. There is a strange custom here that all young couples getting married in Uzhgorod come here to photograph and film, together with their families and wedding guests. They play out various romantic scenes, some groups bring vodka, a drink and a snack with them, and they start the wedding party here. On this example, an ethnographer or a researcher of culture can write a dissertation on the new functions of folk architecture gathered in an open-air museum and the open-air museum as such. What people's needs does it begin to satisfy? Museum only? Is it not, however, a phenomenon that such a ritual in the open-air museum becomes an expression of attachment to its rural origin and nostalgia for familiarity? After all, young couples in Poland often choose nicely situated palaces or mansions as the backdrop for their wedding photos. And there, maybe the parents or grandparents of these young couples were still getting married in such a wooden village church, and they had their wedding in an ordinary village yard or inn? Has the open-air museum become a place that preserves the roots of the inhabitants of this large city? After all, during the Soviet era, thousands of rural families moved here as part of socialist social "advancement", but nostalgia remained.

In the afternoon I met two Austrians and an American, volunteers working in a small village school, lost somewhere in the Carpathian mountains (in the area of ​​Rachiv). They teach English there. What could be done, we agreed to dinner in a fairly good and probably fashionable restaurant Kaktus, and then we went out to party. We got to the most fashionable club in the city - speaking to a taxi driver - called Armageddon, with disco, bowling (only two lanes) and a large room with pool tables. There, for the first time in my life, I played bowling, the guys explained the rules to me and somehow it worked. I wasn't even the last! An interesting fact after midnight was an unexpected visit to the disco hall - suddenly there was a wedding procession with a couple of newlyweds. Apparently, the young people took a moment to go to the disco. It was the first time I saw a "disco-bridesmaid". After all, it was the wedding day in Uzhgorod. It was fun until three in the morning.

In the afternoon I met two Austrians and an American, volunteers working in a small village school, lost somewhere in the Carpathian mountains (in the area of Rachiv). They teach English there. What could be done, we agreed to dinner in a fairly good and probably fashionable restaurant Kaktus, and then we went out to party. We got to the most fashionable club in the city - speaking to a taxi driver - called Armageddon, with disco, bowling (only two lanes) and a large room with pool tables. There, for the first time in my life, I played bowling, the guys explained the rules to me and somehow it worked. I wasn't even the last! An interesting fact after midnight was an unexpected visit to the disco hall - suddenly there was a wedding procession with a couple of newlyweds. Apparently, the young people took a moment to go to the disco. It was the first time I saw a "disco-bridesmaid". After all, it was the wedding day in Uzhgorod. It was fun until three in the morning..

Uzhgorod, street in the old city; September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Uzhgorod, synagogue under renovation, old part of the city; September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Uzhgorod - Horiany, 12th century Romanesque rotunda st. Anna; September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Uzhgorod - Horiany, 12th century Romanesque rotunda st. Anna, frescoes in the interior, scene: Adoration of the Magi; September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Continuation of the travel journal notes:

I got to the facility by marshrutka in the afternoon (traveling with this type of transport to the east is a topic for a separate story). It was a very hot and sunny day. When I managed to go inside, I saw frescoes in a uniform color scheme, with lots of shades of brown, yellow and purple. However, thanks to the unusual light, which in the afternoon intensely penetrated the chapel (now it is the presbytery of the church), they appeared in all their golden luminosity, close to the early Byzantine splendor, which was mystically stimulated by vibrating rays of light.

Uzhgorod - Horiany, 12th century Romanesque rotunda st. Anna, scenes: The Last Supper and the Crucifixion; September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Crosscarpatia tour 2003 r. [3.]

Slovakia, Bardejov, September 2003; Ilford Pan 100 negative scan, frame size 6x9 cm; camera: Ercona II.

Crosscarpatia tour 2003r. [ trasa: Presov - Bardejov - Humenne - Michalovce - Użhorod - Mukaczewo - Czerniowce - Chocim - Kamieniec Podolski]

An excerpt from my travel journal:

Friday, September 5, 2003.

Michalovce. Overnight in "Hotel BREZA", that is in Hotel Bryza after ours. The facility is run by the local State Forests, located on the shores of the lagoon (by bus towards VINNE, about 15 minutes from the center, but definitely outside the city, about an hour's walk on foot). Room for one person for 280 sk. The price is quite low compared to the single fee at the DRUZBA Hotel in the center of Michalovice (1170 sq. Km). Quite a charming place, located on the VODNA ZEPLINSKA reservoir. A center for summer recreation, lots of summer houses, whole settlements of booths for rent, tennis courts - even used, because a few guests have just finished the game. In the north, from the horizon line behind the reservoir, quite substantial mountain ridges, covered with picturesque forests, jump up towards the sky. The map shows that there are highly picturesque lakes surrounded by forested mountain ridges. Around a lot of hiking and biking trails and hostels. The area is quite well developed for tourists. In the end it got warm too, I sat on a bench by the lagoon and started to bask in the sun. Peace and quiet around, a lazy splash of water, just a resort after the season. This phenomenon has always fascinated me. After returning to the hotel, I came across tennis players, I think they already had a lot of fun, because they invited me to their table and offered me Borovicka. Unfortunately, one of them even became too touchy and was only looking for a tease. He asked why I came here, if I was not afraid to ride alone, because something unpleasant can happen to me, even he can do it, and why I pretend that I do not understand what he says. Well, sometimes some compatriots in Poland are also difficult to understand after drinking a large dose of vodka.

I still have to get back to my journey from Bardejov (departure 7.35 am). The conductor on this Slovak railway is the person who actually takes care of passengers and manages the train during the journey. When I was checking tickets, when I asked if I really had a change at KAPUSANACH PRI PRESOVIE, a small railway stop where two lines converged, he confirmed this information to me and, especially before arriving at the station, informed me that I should get off. Despite several dozen passengers on his head, he remembered where I had a transfer and took care of it. In addition, they are social people, sit down with the locals, those who travel to work every day on the basis of a monthly ticket, and talk to each other about various matters, joke and laugh.

HUMENNE and MICHALOVCE are already laid out in an eastern way, it can be seen that there is no longer a clear geographical border between the city and the vast area around it. There is no classic market square, there is only a very elongated square with buildings from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and many modernist buildings in the interwar period. All surrounded by housing estates of blocks. Several dozen meters beyond them, now open fields, almost steppes. Such an impression was made by this space in the autumn rays of the setting sun. Railway stations on the eastern border of the country (Humenne and Michalovce) are newly renovated or under renovation. You can see that you have to show yourself in the border zone. The state must make its presence felt, also through the institution of railways. Even if the rail traffic is not too great, there is still investment in tiles and tiles, new white plastic windows, new benches that must not be occupied by the Gypsies. Well, the shop window must look impressive for a visitor from across the eastern border at the first meeting.

But in Michalovce, the SAD bus station is simply ugly. Feel the unlimited atmosphere of spatial and communication chaos. Railway, due to its linear character and unified rolling stock, is characterized by order, and bus traffic is characterized by a certain freedom, thanks to the multitude of different types of vehicles, differently marked, with inscriptions in different languages ​​(using the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets), running in all directions. Torn posters hang from the walls of a tin shed covered with corrugated metal, pieces of which are carried by the wind all over the area. Pieces of paper, empty plastic bags, fly in the air. I feel a strange scratching inside somewhere. Is there any excitement about what is unknown, unknown, what is already close, at your fingertips, a two-hour bus ride? Crowds of people, often gypsy-looking, swarthy, walking slowly between the platforms with their hands full of all kinds of bags and nets. People dressed so poorly are walking around the station, you can see that they are strangers from the other side, shyly holding three packets of cigarettes for sale. Each of a different type and price. They shyly accost people, but more often they stand still in one place, waiting for people willing to buy smuggled goods. However, there is a certain anxiety in their movements, a willingness to run away at any moment, from sudden control. Well, smuggling and illegality create fear. Such a feature of the frontier zone. Yes, yes, sunrise and adventure are getting closer. Time to move towards them.

On the train from Presov, on the way to Michalovice, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

The bus that will take me to Uzhgorod, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

On the way to Uzhhorod, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.

Zwielokrotnienia [1.]

Warsaw, PKiN, 2010, negative format 6x9 cm, Kodak Brownie No 2 camera, multiple exposure of the frame, scan from the negative.

Since its inception, it has become an icon of Warsaw. It was like that for decades, until it turned out in recent months that icon iconicity is a problem for some environments. So modern iconoclasters are now looking for features that are non-iconic for this iconic building.

And now something starts here. Two years after .......

Crosscarpatia tour 2003 [5.]

Slovakia, Bardejov, September 2003; Ilford Pan 100 negative scan, frame size 6x9 cm; camera: Ercona II.

Crosscarpatia tour 2003r. [ trasa: Presov - Bardejov - Humenne - Michalovce - Użhorod - Mukaczewo - Czerniowce - Chocim - Kamieniec Podolski]

An excerpt from my travel journal, this time the beginning of the trip, still in Poland:

Tuesday September 2, 2003

5.10 am - Main Railway Station in Krakow. I change to the train towards Košice. I have some time, but there is nowhere to sit at the train station, you cannot drink or eat something warm. Sad and gloomy, as in all stations in the morning, between night and dawn. Everything at the station is closed, waiting room, restaurant, ticket offices. Abandoned building. You can use the doubles of various booths in front of the station, but the fast food does not look inviting. But before dawn, bagel sellers show up with their tin, lighted trolleys filled with fresh pastries. Witnesses of the night vigilance of Krakow's bakery and depositories of Krakow's tradition. Only Lajkonik is missing, apparently they have not opened a stable or a catwalk for him yet.

Opposite, by the pekaes, life is already beginning, the first buses depart, you can even go to Zakopane. Most travelers, half asleep, however, go to work and are unlikely to ever go to a resort. Dress code does not indicate this. Such observations and odyssey peregrinations at dawn give great interesting observations. Fortunately, I blend into the background and I am not bothered by the shadows of people, wandering through a hard, sleepless night, sometimes needing a bit of alcohol to reach the end of their consciousness. Somehow I have to wait this hour until 6.05. The train to Košice was empty, a few people in each car. There were even four Chinese, three men and one woman to be exact. One jog, dragging a suitcase on wheels, and in the other hand holding a prophetess with four pairs of socks drying out. Phantoms from the sunrise at sunrise, heading towards sunrise. The journey passes without any problems until the conductor announces that there is an alternative bus communication between Grybów and Nowy Sącz, probably due to the renovation of the track. It's a pity, because touring Grybów along this railway route is very charming, you go through the whole city along the slope, as if you were flying over it. One trip gives you the opportunity to see it from several sides, several perspectives. The train rolls slowly, the wheels squeak, the smoking chimneys of the Grybów Brewery below - closed now? Unfortunately, this time I was deprived of such views. The Chinese are confused and do not know what is happening. After all, they were only supposed to get off in Košice. The conductor insistently wants to explain the complexity of the whole situation to them in Polish, and their nervousness and confusion intensify. Well, the train is after all international relations. Fortunately, someone who knows English takes pity on the fate of the Asians. The delay is already 45 minutes. The train leaves Nowy Sącz at 10:45 AM. It is close to the border, and the railway line meanders picturesquely along with Poprad, in the joint embrace of a turbulent river and high slopes of the nearby hills. The first fall colors begin to appear on the trees. Mountains, hills interspersed with forests, meadows and small plowed fields, a rough river, the slow rattle of a train.

I'm in Presov around noon. Unfortunately, it got cold and it started to drizzle. It's very unpleasant and you don't even want to go out to town. I buy my first beer, in a dear to me Slovak soil, in a train station pub and I immediately decide to go to Bardejov to find accommodation there, because I planned to stop there for the first time. Well, these are memories and returns to places where you've only been a few hours before. Memory suggested that it is worth anchoring here for a longer time, because the atmosphere of the city is unusual. These are my memories of Bardejov from a few years ago. And here I am again, alone. As it once was. According to the information from the guide, it was best to stay in the "Sport Hotel" and it was true.