Artist
Ela Polkowska
Ela Polkowska is a photographer based in Warsaw, Poland. She is interested in documenting people, places and objects on the margins of everyday life and subjects relegated from the dominant public memory or hidden from consciousness.
Studied Art History and Film Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 2013 graduated from the Academy of Photography in Warsaw. From 2013 to June 2014 participated in the Mentorship Programme by Sputnik Photos. From 2015 to 2019 student of photography at the Institut of Creative Photography in Opava, Czech Republic. Participant of the 2nd cycle of PARALLEL - European Photo based Platform (2018-2019).
Her main projects are "Splinter", a story of people living in continuous disorder, "When Objects Are Always Similar” about visual parallels between pictures and „Firmly Pinch The Skin Together” about tension, pressure and balance in everyday life.
Firmly Pinch The Skin Together
ʻFirmly Pinch The Skin Together’ is a visual manifestation of a tactile universe that involves intimacy and closeness, whilst capturing sensitive moments of tension and pressure. The title refers to a medical phrase used for injection procedures, and correlates a painful gesture with its curative function. The series explores the outward appearance of our inner selves by recording dilapidated structures, body parts, motion and touch, tracing our sense of anxiety, discomfort and relief. It’s a crude journey through a world of the senses, and to our innermost emotions.
The project relates to the conception of the Skin-Ego by Didier Anzieu, where skin is treated metaphorically as a wrapping that protects our interior but which also enables us to connect with others. It is a protective shield that allows us to engage with the world, and which marks the external disturbances we experience through our lives. and conversely it maintains the body in a state of unity, preserving our inner and outer balance.