Photographer Artur Jastrzębski is an Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of these images. From the series ‘Cities and Villages’. To see Artur ‘s body of work, click on any photograph.

The photographs from the “Cities and Villages” series convey both artistic and documentary aspects. This isn’t a coherent project, but rather a record of the emotions, observations, and changes in the contemporary world.

Biography

I was born in 1975, right in the midst of the communist propaganda of success, and in Tychy – a city referred to as socialist, almost entirely built after World War II. I never pledged allegiance to communism – by the time I grew up, it was already gone anyway. But I did pledge allegiance to my city, and so I have lived and worked here in Tychy all my life. It is also here that I have taken my best photographs.

Photography has been my passion for as long as I can remember. It was only with the arrival of the 21st century, however, that I decided to make it the medium through which I could convey my ideas, ambitions, emotions and sensitivity.

I felt ready for my first solo exhibition in 2010, when Impressions of Paprocany (Impresje paprocañskie) was displayed at the gallery of the Municipal Cultural Centre in Tychy, and later at the Municipal Cultural Centre in Miko³ów and, finally, at the Photography Gallery of the £ódŸ Photographic Society. That year also brought my first professional distinction – for the series Cielmice – an Exceptional Village (Cielmice wieœ wyj¹tkowa), entered in the Obiektywnie Œl¹skiedocumentary photography competition.

In 2010, during the great flood that struck our region, I also created the series The Great Water in Paprocany (Wielka woda w Paprocanach), documenting, in a reflective manner, the power of the natural force we had to confront. To this day, it remains my most frequently awarded and distinguished body of work. It was recognised and appreciated, among others, in the Tychy Press Photo 2011 competition, the Silesian Press Photography 2010 competition, the ShowOFFsection of the Krakow Photomonth, as well as in international competitions.

In 2013, I founded the Tychy Photographic Society and served as its president for two years. In 2016, I became a member of the £ódŸ Photographic Society, and two years later I became a full member of the Photoclub of the Republic of Poland – Association of Artists, which awarded me the title of Photographer Artist (AFRP). In the Written in Light (Œwiat³em zapisane) photography competition, held as part of the Ireneusz Zje¿d¿a³ka Wielkopolska Photography Festival, I received the Gold Medal of the Photoclub of the Republic of Poland “For Photographic Creativity”. Several years later, I was awarded the Bronze Medal of the Photoclub of the Republic of Poland – Association of Artists, also “For Photographic Creativity”, in the Only One Photo 2024 (Tylko Jedno Zdjêcie 2024) competition. I have also received further bronze medals at international photographic salons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania and Switzerland.

I returned to the subject of my beloved Paprocany in 2018–2019, when I created the series Impressions of Paprocany 2 / Sinice (Impresje paprocañskie 2/Sinice), which was presented in galleries in £ódŸ – including a joint presentation with Janusz Gajos – as well as in Katowice, Lublin and Tychy. Another achievement I am proud of was an invitation to participate in 6inLodz, a project organised by the £ódŸ-based Atlas Sztuki Foundation, alongside such distinguished photographers as Czes³aw Czapliñski, Alex Lubomirski, Ryszard Horowitz and Wally Pfister.

In recent years, I have returned to solo exhibitions with my project Housing Estate Z (Osiedle Z), which began in 2017 and continues to this day. It is a broadly understood form of contemporary art inspired by the work of Jerzy Nowosielski, Erik Satie and the creators of geometric abstraction. It is characterised by simplicity and reflection on what is ordinary and overlooked, while emphasising the extraordinary nature of everyday places. The project premiered in Tychy in February 2025 at Gemini Park Tychy, in the exhibition space Window onto Culture (Okno na Kulturê), and subsequently travelled to £ódŸ, Ruda Œl¹ska, Tychy, Jastrzêbie-Zdrój and Bielsko-Bia³a.

An important event at the end of the same year was my being awarded the title of International Photographer Artist and, the following year, that of Ambassador by the International Association of Art Photographers (IAAP) of North Macedonia. A few months later, I became a member of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP – Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique), headquartered in Luxembourg. It is the only international photographic organisation recognised and represented by UNESCO. I also joined Turkey’s Fotogram Photo Club (FPC).

My photographs have been published in magazines and newspapers including Dziennik Zachodni, Digital Camera Polska, Digital Foto Video, Echo, Foto, Foto-Kurier, Gazeta Wyborcza, National Geographic Traveler, Nasze Katowice, Nowe Info, Pismo Folkowe, Ramy Kultury, Silesia Airport, Twoje Tychy and Tyski Magazyn Kulturalny. My work has also been exhibited in galleries and seen by audiences in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, the United States, Scotland, Ukraine, Hungary and Italy.

What I do has its roots in a youthful passion that began many years ago. I think that, despite the passage of time, I have fortunately never managed to rid myself of that youthful spontaneity. And photography will always remain my great passion.