The space is filled with living and dead matter. Both matter penetrate each other. Coal, tree and smoke.Houses, chimneys and streets.

Everything that surrounds me is a part of me. White smoke fills my nostrils, the sun causes slow growth. The tree turns into coal, the man turns into smoke. It flares up and disappears. 

I was born and live in Wodzisław Śląski in Upper Silesia. Every day I see mines choking in heavy smog. Although the climate seems not very friendly, it has become commonplace for me. Time seems to have stopped in the place, I have the impression that this moment was going to last. Houses and streets, heaps and chimneys, and only the thick smoke coming out of the chimney reminds me of the passage of time. I started the series in 2013. I used both a digital camera and the traditional analog one to make it. The photographs in the form of a square were made with a medium-format Holga camera.

About Michał Konrad

Michał Konrad (born Michał Smuda), born in 1983 in Poland. Teacher by profession. Currently residing in Wodzisław Śląski. From an early age interested in visual arts, self-taught. He transmits his vision with a camera. His photographs balance on the edge of dream and reality, often taking on a surreal character. Since 2016, he has been making self-portraits, which constitute his emotional attitude to the surrounding world. In his photography Michał Konrad is looking for and discovering new methods of transmitting the visual image. In principle, his photographs are to exert a strong influence on the imagination. In 2017 he was selected in the debut project. The most talented Polish emerging photographers (according to the Debuts and Doc magazine). His photographs have been awarded at numerous prestigious competitions. He has exhibited collective and individual exhibitions, as well as numerous publications in Polish and foreign photographic magazines. [Official Website]