“Weeds” is a book documenting plants from the fringes of the official world. While working with plants, I draw inspiration from Gilles Clement’s “third landscape” theory. I am radically on the side of plants.
Book description:
In working on the book I was accompanied by a quote: “Weeds do not actually exist. Every plant plays an important role in nature. There are wild herbs, spice plants and medicinal plants (…). The term weed, on the other hand, is a selfish assessment of a plant’s value from a human point of view.” (Marie-Luise Kreuter, “Gardening in harmony with nature”). Weeds are resistance, rebellion and defiance. Independence beyond human control. It is resilience and persistence. Wealth, resource, food. Finally: silence and delight. I was keen to convey the richness and diversity of this world. I took great pleasure in looking at the plant creatures. “And I see what I am looking at. At the delusion of something absolute, at the derivative creation of Japan, at something extremely tender and intimate, softened and dreamy.” – From Joanna Kinowska’s review for “Przekroj” magazine.
“Weeds” was awarded in the Photographic Publication of the Year in 2020: “for an extremely painterly take on the theme of exclusion, for a publication of excellent quality, and let’s not be afraid of the term – beautiful.”
About the author:
Joanna Szpak – Ostachowska – photographer, animator, gardener. Graduate of Polish Studies at the University of Warsaw. She completed the Sputnik Photos Mentorship Program (2019/2020). Author of the photography book “Weeds”. Winner of the ShowOFF section of Photomonth in Krakow (2020). Her works from the Common Parts series were purchased for the contemporary photography collection of the Museum of Warsaw (2022). She has presented her series at WindowLicker gallery (Warsaw, 2024), Artistic Site on Chlodna 20 (Warsaw, 2023) at Galeria Przy Kozach (Warsaw, 2024 and 2021), at Town Hall Gallery (Zamosc, 2021), at the Year of the Restless Sun exhibition (Lodz, 2021), at the Plant Stories action (Warsaw, 2021), at the Rybnik Foto Festival (2021), at the Photo Art Festival (Bielsko-Biala, 2019) and as part of the Exhibit yourself at the CCA (Torun, 2015). Winner of the IGPOTY competition (London, 2017) and the Places of Everyday Life of the Arsenal Gallery and Ostrov (Poznań, 2019). She teaches the author’s in series of photography classes at the Służewski House of Culture in Warsaw.
About the publication:
Year of publication: 2019
Wydawca: self publishing
Publisher: 120
Graphic design: Krzysztof Pacholak
Photo editing/sequencing: Krzysztof Pacholak, Joanna Szpak-Ostachowska
Cooperation: Agata Jasińska (translator)
Additional information:
I took all the photos on Jola and Ludwik Majlert’s farm in Warsaw’s Bialoleka district in 2018 and 2019. The foil used to sew the covers came from the farm tents, at which the portrayed plants grew. It was recovered by me when it was changed to a new one.
The book is sold out. I published it with my own resources.
