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Urszula Wiznerowicz, Featured Designer

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Urszula Wiznrowicz won the Main prize at this years D&AD New Blood Exhibition and has been chosen as one of the 4 finalists for the Channel 4 and Saatchi Gallery: New Sensations 2010 Prize.

Q1 How would you describe your style of photography?

I am interested in social documentary, urban landscapes and portraiture. All my projects are the result of working with medium format analogue camera that helps me to capture my feelings about the image in the best possible way. Shooting with square format became my addiction. Often when I look for the right frame to take I can see square format images in my head. I used to photograph mostly in black and white but I realized that I can best express my vision mostly by colour imagery. My pictures are results of working with a pastel palette of colours but it is not a definite thing; I’m still in a process of developing my style.

Q2 In the photography world what do you find inspiring?

Work of other photographers, for example which I find inspiring include William Eglleston, Mark Power and Alec Soth who sometimes give me inspiration to follow my ideas through and I always try to develop my own style and go after my feeling and intuition while shooting. I usually get inspired by the people and places they live in, particularly in the countryside where I grew up. Because I have lived in the UK for 5 years already, every time I visit my hometown in Poland I can see so many changes. I feel that because of this I loose something, a part of my life. Photography gave me the opportunity to keep the experience of my childhood not just in my memory but also on the negative.

Q3 During a session, how many photographs would you say you take to find the right one?

Depending on the subject being photographed. When I take portraits I usually need one or two (12 exposures) rolls of film to get the right one. With landscapes or interiors sometimes 2 or 3 frames are enough to capture what I have planed.

Q4 UBD noticed that your photographs give reference to your village of Wielkopolska in Poland. Could you tell us more about this collection of photographs?

The series of pictures were taken where I spent my childhood, observing for 15 years how the ‘drunken’ villages of 40 houses exist and are isolated from a ‘sober’ reality. The work documents a well know illness, Alcoholism colloquially, the illness of the soul. The dim interiors with a deep layer of dust and a horrible and lingering smell of alcohol are just part of a bleak truth. Photographed over a period of one year, collecting various interviews and medical knowledge, this was necessary to fully understand and to express the problem of alcohol addiction in the area of Greater Poland. I wanted to make the spectator’s attention focus on the inescapable feeling of loneliness I saw and tried to capture and I think I managed to do it.

Q5 How do you decide on shoot locations, and which subjects to use?

I try to capture authentic locations and tell stories about the people who live there. My aim is to create a ‘real’ image.  I attempt to expose what is happening deep within the psyche of my subjects. My projects tend to be very personal and come from deep observation of the surrounding reality… The images come alive in light; the story reaches the spectator beyond material reality. In my opinion, photography is creating the world again from scratch. You have the impression that you see more and you feel a deeper beauty, and that’s I think my main direction in choosing the subjects and objects to shoot.

Q6 Have you been interested in photography from an early age, and did you always plan to come to England to attend university?

I could say that I have always been interested in art from the early age. I had wasted so much paper on drawing and painting, but no one really understood my love for it. Passion for photography completely seized me at the age of nineteen when I started a photography course in London. I never forget the feeling when I first saw the print coming out from the ‘developing tray’. With no opportunity available to me to study arts (due to my family situation) I decided to leave Poland in order to pursue my education and further my career. My determination led me to graduating in BA Photography from Middlesex University in London.

Q7 Finally, your collection of Portrait’s, express a very moving story of alcoholism. What made you decide to tackle this subject and how did you reach the final series of images?

Inspired to start my piece of work by one of my neighbours, who as an alcoholic for the past 6 years and who has proved that there is a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ led him leading a sober life. The project refers to what I did see and the experiences of living in Poland, what I see now and what I will see every time I come to visit my country.

You can see Urszula’s Portfolio here

by Sasha
Wednesday 1st September 2010