Wisła / Vistula [2022 – ongoing]

I’ve been living in London for almost 20 years. In 2021 I decided to quit my job in London and move back to Poland to study photography. Having left my motherland as a very young person, so many years ago, I felt that I really don’t know my country and Poles anymore. It was the first time I lived in Warsaw and on a one warm spring day I decided to go to the river. I could not believe what I saw - everyone was there.

In the summer of 2022, I walked approximately 40 km along the Vistula's eastern and western banks, discovering a wild world hidden in the heart of a European capital.The "Vistula District", Warsaw's informal district, is a place where you can meet friends and light a bonfire or have a family picnic; it's the city's largest beach; it's a quiet space for meditation and communing with nature; it's a path you can use to cycle to work. It is a democratic common space shared by so many different people & often taken for granted. 

This oasis is at risk, just like any other river in the world. We recently witnessed the collapse of the eco system in the second largest Polish river, Odra. Very low water levels caused by low rainfall, inadequate water over-management, pollution are just a few of the threats that rivers around the world are currently facing. Taking care of this common space shared with nonhuman species and their habitat, is the responsibility of each of us.