The photography exhibition DYWERS 2.0 is a continuation of the first part of the exhibition presented at Fotofestiwal 2024 (go to the piece of news about the opening of the exhibition). The series of portraits taken by Bartosz Kałużny, a photographer from the University of Lodz, consists of works that uncover stories related to the threats caused by stereotyping. Bartosz is interested in both the lack of understanding in everyday encounters of people, as well as the institutional barriers that make it difficult for people participating in the project to go beyond accepted patterns and fit into the framework of social expectations.
University of Lodz and the Film Museum in Lodz, presenting DYWERS 2.0, join the discussion on neurodiversity, sexual identity, mental health and disability. Crises are too often experienced in silence. DYWERS reminds us that our sensitivity, empathy, and willingness to understand others determine the well-being of society as a whole and individual happiness.
The exhibition includes previously unpublished works and several photographs known from the first edition. These are staged photographs, preceded by an interview with a person who applied for the project or was invited to take part it.
Bartosz is a Doctor of Political Science by education, so he looks at the image differently than other artists. He sees it as a medium that carries information. This is important in the case of socially engaged projects. These photographs have great subversive potential, they show us networks of connections between power and knowledge
– notes the curator of the exhibition, Prof. Marek Domański from the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz.
DYWERS is an artistic and educational project, which is designed primarily so that all viewers can learn the stories of the portrayed – brave people who agreed to share their stories with me and allowed me to translate them into the language of photography. The portraits are accompanied by descriptions taken from conversations with the participants. And although the whole thing concerns currently important issues, though not limited to the present, insightful viewers will find references to visual arts from previous centuries in the photographs
– explains the author of the exhibition.
You can find more information about the project and the full curatorial text on the website of DYWERS (go to the project website).