Dominika Gęsicka

After coming across the work of Dominika Gesicka, I was intrigued not only with her photographs but also the story behind them. They encompass an unknown world to many. A world that embodies ambiences and atmosphere that are filled with mystery, both inviting and dark. The work engages the audience to look further, and once observed the viewer is filled with a desire to discover and know about this mystifying place where people reside and live life.

Dominika Gęsicka, born in 1981 in Włocławek, Poland. Graduated from International Affairs at Warsaw School of Economics (Poland), student of Institute of Creative Photography in Opava, (Czech Republic). Member of People You May Know collective.

Exhibitions

Solo shows:

"El pilón", Photomonth in Cracow, Poland (2014)

Group Shows:

Without the author’s knowledge” - Media Lab 6, TRAFO, Szczecin, Poland (2015)

Increased Difficulty of Concentration, Fotograf Festival, Prague, Czech Republic (2015)

Hunter – Format Festival, Derby, UK (2015)

Intimate spaces – Interphoto Festival, Białystok, Poland (2015)

Publications

El pilón/ The Foundation for Visual Arts (2014)

NO2/ Sputnik Photos (2014)I

ID/ The Foundation for Visual Arts ( (2013)

Awards

Finalist of Lensculture Exposure Award (2015)

Laureate of Show off programme, Photomonth in Cracow (2014)

Laureate of Fotoprezentacje, Association of Creative Initiatives "Ę" (2013)

Grants

Ideas Tap & Magnum Photos grant (2015)

Residencies

Docking Station in Amsterdam (May, 2016)

“This is not real life”

There is a place where no one is born and no one dies. Of course you can die anywhere but you cannot be buried here as it has been discovered that bodies fail to decompose here. You cannot be born here because pregnant women are to return to the mainland to give birth. There are no cats, no trees, no traffic lights. There is no amusement park, but there is a circus troupe. In the winter time it is completely dark, but in the summer sun never sets. The place is called Longyearbyen and it is the largest settlement and an administrative center of Svalbard. It is also the world’s northernmost city. Although it is difficult to regard it the best place to live, many people fall in love with it at first sight. Some people came here just for two weeks and stayed for five years or more, but not many decide to settle down here permanently. Sometimes you have an impression that people here are trying to escape from something; that this is just a retreat. This is not a real life.