Presented at the portfolios reviews of the Łódź photo festival in Poland, this work by a young Polish photographer presents her quest for autonomy through the narration of various esoteric rituals.
Coming from a very Catholic family, as are many in her country, Aleksandra Szajnecka one day wanted to distance herself from the religious life of those around her and tryied to open up other avenues for her beliefs. Thus, she documents in amazing photographs the path to this emancipation through what she calls a magical ritual. Acts like cutting her hair at night on a full moon or blending into a tree trunk in the forest at night when using her camera.
What is particularly striking is the very strong relationship she seems to nurture with the nature that surrounds her. As she says herself, life in a big city often makes you lose this link with the flora and fauna, and it is as a surveyor of this submerged world that the photographer wishes to situate herself, testifying to the beauty of an almost carnal relationship with the natural elements.
“It took me a year to study these rituals and after this learning time I decided to photograph them”, explains Aleksandra Szajnecka who adds: “I had to break the barrier between what is rational and what is is not “. Thus, at home, a workshop was set up little by little turned towards the magic of nature as she explains it, raising butterflies from their larval state to their deployment in the air or mushrooms until that they become huge.
Jean-Baptiste Gauvin
