Documentary Photography and Social Research

Global pandemics is here and it affects all aspects of life: the way we live, the way we travel, the way we eat and sleep, the way we interact with others, the way we interact with ourselves… How to capture this social change? How to follow what is going on inside and outside us?

The digital exhibition presents documentary pieces within the project “Self-discovery in pandemics”. A collaborative work, where we invited other people, or we just invited ourselves, into the process of self-tracking the state and shape pandemics put us in.

The project is created  by the students of M.A. course Digital Photography & Social Research: Magdalena Buresova, Qingyun Cai, Laura E., Yuliia Halychanska, Michalina Chmielecka, Reetta Kettunen, Anastasiia Kovtun, Kristyna Kremlickova, Magdalena Lorenzova, Tereza Pickova, Linda Sequensova, Elyssa S., Nadezda Tujska – under the supervision of Ludmila Wladyniak.

Project "Do not live with your demons" by Yuliia Halychanska.

An audiovisual project is a part of the documentation the pace of everyday life during the COVID-19 pandemic to which I invited persons (from my closest circle of friends from Poland) to present their reflection on the rapidly changing reality and entering a new role of social distance. The pace of everyday life is determined depending on where we are, what work we do, what hobby we have, what our character and individual needs are. We often get caught up in the rush of great city life or leave it to slow down and rest for a moment. The frequency of life is variable, depending on individual decisions or the environment in which we find ourselves. The pace of recent weeks has become dynamic, daily new information about the closing of borders, schools, universities, state and cultural institutions, concerts, conferences, events are canceled, the entire catering and tourist zone suddenly dies. Most of our everyday life moves to our homes, limited in mobility, we need to change everyday functioning and adapt to the surrounding reality. In this project I would like to focus on this detention and its perception - what strategies are adopted, what to do with free time, or use it to read books? Catching up at school / work? Learn a new skill? Sleep off last month? Stroking a dog / kitty? For outstanding housework? Arguing / reconciling with loved ones?

The project was co-created with Dodo, Kama and Pati, who I accompanied at a distance for a month in their daily lives, during long conversations and the exchange of visual materials.

Dodo:

Kama:

Video "Self-isolation version COVID-19" by Anastasiia Kovtun