Identity, Gender, and Feminism
Bartek Wieczorek is an observer, curious about the surroundings, the elements of the environment, and more so of human nature. He creates a dialogue often told through black and white, engaging a viewer to experience the atmosphere of the proposed scene. Advocating to cast from the streets, Bartek accentuates that beauty can be encountered anywhere. Personality is the main construct that drives a visual conversation about gender, identity, feminism, roots. The aspect of emotion comes from the quietness and attention to the occurrence, from the unexpected dynamics, from nature and current weather conditions framing the story. In fashion photography, Bartek presents a slightly different angle of view, which involves avant-garde elements and a truthful peek into realism.
Personality is the main construct that drives a visual conversation about gender, identity, feminism, roots. The aspect of emotion comes from the quietness and attention to the occurrence, from the unexpected dynamics, from nature and current weather conditions framing the story. In fashion photography, Bartek presents a slightly different angle of view, which involves avant-garde elements and a truthful peek into realism.
Bartek Wieczorek is Polish portraiture and fashion photographer based in Warsaw. Bartek is involved in artistic documentary photography with an appreciation for the architecture of the second half of the 20th century. In this interview, we speak with Bartek about the outcomes of the pandemic, his rebellious teenage years and skateboarding background, and the passion towards the exploration of human identity through photography.
‘Warsaw very much reflects how Poland is changing. You can feel and see the history here: communism, transformation, entering the EU. Today it’s a great place to live.’
Hi Bartek, how are you?
Hi, I’m very good, thank you. After almost three months at home, I am finally starting to meet friends, going out, etc. Although the pandemic in Poland is not waning (our government decided on the lockdown at the very beginning, before it even hit), the restrictions were taken down and the atmosphere in the city is much better. Nothing is the same as it was before the lockdown, but we are feeling much stronger, I hope. Besides, I don't think I've ever had my archives that ordered. :)
Could you describe the city you live in?
Warsaw has been changing a lot. I have lived here almost since I was born, I was 5 years old when my parents moved here from another city in Poland, Kielce. Warsaw very much reflects how Poland is changing. You can feel and see the history here: communism, transformation, entering the EU. Today it’s a great place to live. Full of various interesting initiatives, events, and places you just go to with friends. At the same time, there is still a lot of space for your own activities and ideas. I’m glad that I live here at such a time. Of course, there is also a political aspect that is still annoying, but it’s also mobilizing to various activities.
‘It was through skateboarding that I became interested in fashion, started sewing clothes on my own, which led me to fashion photography and photography in general. For a photographer, fashion is a place where she.’
What is the place a person can find you in Warsaw? Where do you spend most of your free time and what do you love about this place?
There are a lot of places where I like to spend time, but the lockdown gave me a slightly different view of the city. I live on the Oleandrów street, a very vibrant street. It was sad to see that during the last months, bars and shops were closed and may not survive. Now I try to arrange all social and professional meetings here.
What is fashion for you?
How one looks is a statement. When I was much younger, fashion was a field to show rebellion. I was a teenager in the ’90s when Polish streets were rather grey and homogeneous. At that time, having purple hair or even ripped pants was a political statement and made you feel very visible. When I started skateboarding in the mid-90s, wearing oversized pants, it aroused a big controversy. All in all, it was through skateboarding that I became interested in fashion, started sewing clothes on my own, which led me to fashion photography and photography in general. For a photographer, fashion is a place where she or he can talk about many other things, rather than just clothes, to a wide audience. It's very tempting because by doing my private projects, I only reach a specific, much smaller audience.
‘Talent is the basis. It's impossible to take good photos or create any other kind of art without it. Talent is curiosity, susceptibility, using your voice to bring the message. You need to have it at the very beginning.’
Female nipples on social media have some hard time with the policy and are a topic for debates. What do you think of this subject in fashion photography?
I see no reason why women's nipples are treated differently than men's. The human body (no matter if male, female, or gender fluid) becomes a sexual object through the eyes of a beholder. Banning female nipples is one of the many things long ago invented by a white guy who wanted to be important and to have power over a large part of the society. I love nudity and in my opinion, it shouldn't be forbidden and I'm talking about the whole body, regardless of gender. So I can say Free the Nipples with all my heart.
Do you think talent is a predefined or it is something that is developed through hard work?
Talent is the basis. It's impossible to take good photos or create any other kind of art without it. Talent is curiosity, susceptibility, using your voice to bring the message. You need to have it at the very beginning. All that happens next is hard (every day, nine to five, or even nine to nine) work with a little bit of luck.
‘Openness and understanding of the other person. This is absolutely the most important aspect for me. I have been brought up with a conviction that everyone has the right to be themselves.’
What is the most important as a human trait, in your opinion, that you need to have in a friend or a close one?
Openness and understanding of the other person. This is absolutely the most important aspect for me. I have been brought up with a conviction that everyone has the right to be themselves unless they hurt others. I couldn't be friends with people who think that someone else is worse than them just because they are different. I don't know if it needs to be explained because it's the basis for all of us to live well.
How do you balance between commercial work and the artistic approach and creativity in a photo shoot?
A lot depends on the client’s approach and expectations. I always try to give myself as much as possible, look for the same aesthetic and emotional level as in my personal works. Of course, on a daily basis, I meet with different clients, and they also have different approaches. The important thing I'm looking for in a commercial project is a minimum of the documentary value, at least. It can be showing real places, for instance. I also like to persuade my clients to cast on the street or among friends.
‘I'm interested in identity, the person’s roots, and what separates people - where they are coming from. I'm also very focused on gender in terms of socially given roles and personal perspective of its fluidity.’
If not this I wouldn’t make it. What is this thing you could say about your career path?
The beginning was not easy because growing up in the '90s, in Poland, gave very little access to the world’s photography and the entire creative market. I was taking pictures at the time, but I couldn't even imagine that I can make a living from it. My career began with skateboarding, and it was people I met, who showed me that you can do creative things: a magazine, a fashion brand, videos.
I studied journalism, and at the same time, I was designing and sewing clothes. That made me apply to the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź to the faculty of clothing. Photography became my language, after some time I gave up all the other creative activities and devoted myself to it.
Could you tell about your projects outside of fashion, the documentary ones? What story is it important for you to tell with this type of art?
These are always stories about people and places that are important to them. I take photos constantly, and my themes are the same for many years. I'm interested in identity, the person’s roots, and what separates people - where they are coming from. I'm also very focused on gender in terms of socially given roles and personal perspective of its fluidity. Recently I started to focus a lot on what masculinity means to me. Three years ago, I became a father, and a few months later, I lost my father. It made me think a lot about the roles that men are given and forced to perform in a society. All my thoughts are very connected to feminist philosophy. The fact that Poland has been ruled by a conservative government, for so many years now, gives me a lot of incentives.
‘I'm very inspired by imperfect photos from private Polish archives. They didn't have such a strong blackness, which made them less dynamic, more nostalgic, with a specific mood. I like this melancholic atmosphere in my photography.’
When you photograph outdoors you find captivating locations that are very unique for fashion photography shoots. How do you find those locations? Are you discovering those by mere chance or traveling and looking for new scenery on purpose?
I like to fly, to look for locations. Usually, I happen to be somewhere by accident on vacation with friends and discover a place where I come back later with a project. It can be a phenomenal space, or it can be a unique light, that drives me to a certain location.
It is hard to master black and white photography. What would be your advice to those who are struggling to make art of the black and white filter?
My black and white photography is often less contrasting and gray than pure black and white. I think it comes from the fact that I'm very inspired by imperfect photos from private Polish archives. They didn't have such a strong blackness, which made them less dynamic, more nostalgic, with a specific mood. I like this melancholic atmosphere in my photography. Technically, it involves looking for less contrasting situations, which is not so difficult in Poland because there are relatively few sunny days and there are also many difficult, post-communist, gray locations. On the other hand, this contrast is also a matter of work in a darkroom and print.
What is your next project? Do you plan on directing other music videos?
As I said before, I work very intensively on a personal project. I don't want to talk too much about it before it reaches its final form. I hope to show it in Autumn. I am also working on the idea and script for the music video for Basch that we plan to shoot in August.
