Karol Szymkowiak – 0169-8629 5223-01750

Review by Gerhard Clausing •

This photobook presents a narrative of the collision of several parallel realities, both current and historical. A pristine lake, the largest in a Polish province, lies in the vicinity of a major airport and an airbase, both of which also constituted a prime nuclear target in case World War III broke out. And these two locations are in perpetual conflict: while the military (including NATO and US soldiers) expands, the lake could be protected for the population at large. What are the priorities, whose needs are ultimately satisfied?

These are precarious times once again, with military encounters occurring in several places. The title of the book, 0169-8629 5223-01750, the number having been the code for a potential nuclear strike, is a stark reminder of dangers always lurking, taken to the extreme.

Karol Szymkowiak is a photographer with a special skill to document absurd everyday moments and juxtapositions. The ambiguity we perceive in many of the images, taken in 2021-23, makes us take notice and think about what we are possibly seeing: Among other things, we see foundations and fences that don’t seem to protect anything and are now cluttering the natural environment. We see soldiers gazing into crevices whose purpose is unknown to us. The furrows on the back of a seasoned participant’s head might indicate to us the complexity of strife that is going on, in this location and elsewhere, by extension and universal applicability. We are shown faraway landscapes that hint at a pristine environment that could be protected somewhere, maybe even nearby. Each image gives us much to ponder and keeps guiding us all the way to a substitute Lady Liberty Statue, nicely fenced, that concludes a well-paced photobook that makes some major points in a more subtle manner than is customary elsewhere.

We have written many times about the absurdity of war and its destruction potential. Just put “war” in our search box (magnifying glass symbol in the masthead) and you will see a number of them. This particular photobook distinguishes itself by making its points in a more indirect manner. The presentation is on ivory-tinged or beige-colored pages, the images are printed in relatively low contrast, and the viewer/reader needs to reach his or her own conclusions, based on what might be implied.

This photobook is an excellent example for making your case in a way that can reach the reader/viewer nonverbally. Life is full of absurdities, and few photographers can capture them as well as Karol Szymkowiak.

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Gerhard Clausing, Editor of the PhotoBook Journal, is an author and artist from Southern California.

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Karol Szymkowiak – 0169-8629 5223-01750

Photographer: Karol Szymkowiak (from Poznań, Poland)

Texts and Photo Editing: Karol Szymkowiak

Language: Polish and English

Translator: Konrad Baranowski

Photobook Design: Krzysiek Orłowski (Zinteka) and Karol Szymkowiak

Softbound with open binding and illustrated wrap-around cover; 84 pages, unnumbered; 8 x 9.75 inches (20.5 x 24.5 cm); first edition of 300; ISBN 978-83-968764-6-1

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Articles and photographs published in the PhotoBook Journal may not be reproduced without the permission of the PhotoBook Journal staff and the photographer(s). All images, texts, and designs are under copyright by the authors and publishers.