Two weeks ago, a curator friend, Olesia Dalakova, asked if I’d be part of Vortex Motion, a group exhibition to be shown at Strefa Wolnosłowa as part of their szkoła o migracji educational program. Though the timeframe was tight, a mere 9 days to decide what to show before the opening, I accepted the kind invitation and began wondering exactly how I might interpret vortex motion through my street photography, without opting for kitschy slow shutter speeds and motion blur.
As I selected a longer list of photographs, I noticed a curious running theme of anthropomorphised animals and zoomorphised humans. Although I knew I had made individual photographs like this, much like the wider theme of religiosity in my work had been pointed out to me, I hadn’t noticed this emerging theme. At the same time, I was listening to Javier Navarrete’s beautiful score for one of my favourite movies, Pan’s Labyrinth, and I started to imagine Pan’s world, which led me to Narnia and to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From there, it was a short hop, skip, and a jump to the final selection.
Vortex Motion
There is another world, and it is in this one – Paul Éluard
There are days when my world appears to have slipped out of alignment. Movement through a vortex open for only a fraction of a second. Through an aperture, order collapses into chaos when a shutter is pressed and is restored as the curtain closes. In that brief moment, an invisible disturbance of our ordinary gives way to an ephemeral surreality where we become animals and animals become us.
Opening
Vortex Motion was a group exhibition curated by Aleks Ayasov and Olesia Dalakova, featuring painter Aleksandr Biruk, zinemaker Bee James, sculptor Mykhailo Kaidash, interdisciplinary artist Anastasiya Kapytok, painter Nikola Knechciak, interdisciplinary artist Diana Todorovska, and me. We were generously assisted by the team at Strefa Wolnosłowa, including Olga Klip and Maciek Diduszko, who were incredibly kind with their help and advice.
The opening took place at Strefa Wolnosłowa in Warsaw on the 24th October, 2026. During the event, Mykhailo demonstrated his sculpture with clay and invited the audience to also participate. Later, Diana Todorovska also invited the audience to participate in her performance, as we were all connected together by a long thread. It reminded me of an old Scots phrase: we’re aa ae oo, or we’re all one thread.
It was a lovely evening, and I was so chuffed that so many people enjoyed my photographs as they did. Thank you to Aleks and Olesia for having me, and to Strefa Wolnosłowa, Olga, and Maciek for exhibiting and helping us. Thanks also to Julia Szabłowska for the additional photos.
