Artist
Mateusz Kowalik
Mateusz Kowalik is a documentary photographer based in Warsaw, Poland. In his work he explores the issues of contemporary society. He studies at the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava, Czech Republic. He is a graduate of the Sputnik Photos Mentoring Program and the PARALLEL European Photo Based Platform. He showed his works, among others at festivals in Wrocław, Łódź, Kraków, Hanover, Zagreb and Los Angeles, as well as at the Robert Capa Photography Center in Budapest.
DEVIL'S RIB
40 years ago, an escape into Polish wilderness was usually because of being an outlaw, a dissident of the communist regime, or an adventurer. Today, the fatigue of modern life and fears of humanity collapse push humans towards living life closer to nature. Lifestyle diseases might soon wake up this primal call of nature on a broad scale, which will push people again towards the wilderness. A lifestyle including elements of primal life has a positive influence on our wellbeing. However, living close to nature is not a recipe for happiness. The body and soul also need solid relief there, as each of us is sometimes tempted by the darkness, regardless of the latitude. The difference is that instead of drinking whiskey from a supermarket, you take a bath in an infusion made of a devil’s rib plant collected in a nearby forest.