I'll be back tomorrow
Magda Benda is a visual artist and photographer from Poland, currently based in Berlin. She graduated with an MA from the Lodz Film School in the field of Photography with a documentary project — I’ll be back tomorrow. The project is about her women childhood friends in the town of Racibórz in Poland and the way their life developed over three years.
The project portrays an experience of returning to the hometown, observing the change in the friends' lives through the shift from being a teenager to an adult and eventually becoming a parent. Magda learns about the transformation in social roles and the development of a different perspective. She describes the project, “I shed light on motherhood for today’s young Poles and women’s romantic relationships (or lack of them). I observe how their bodies are changing.” The approach is to present the story from a female perspective, from the authenticity of close relationships, and from the shared experiences of living at a certain point in the same town — the togetherness and the separation that naturally occurs.
Magda brings to the project her own self, the feeling of nostalgia, being homesick, and a deep interest in the unfolding of her friends' lives; for example, being there for the most precious moments with her friend at childbirth and sharing this day-to-day reality in her project. A contrast is created between the winter atmosphere, the desaturation of the colder images, and the times when the sun is out, lighting the frame and bringing an analogy to the joyful moments in the lives of Magda’s heroines
Special thanks to
Gosia, Patryk, Teodor, Rita, Julka, Mela, Ania, Kaja, Agata, Kasia, Kinga, Domi, Patryk, Paulina, Janek, and Angela
‘This is a nostalgic story about the period after coming of age. This is a time when young adults are starting new social roles like becoming parents and being full-time employees.’
I’ll be back tomorrow — is a story about my childhood girlfriends who decided to stay and build their life in our hometown of Racibórz, unlike most of our colleagues from school. It is a typical Polish Catholic town located on the border with the Czech Republic. It is almost identical to about 200 other small towns in Poland. It is a city from which almost every young person decides to leave as soon as they finish high school. When I started the project in 2019, Racibórz was a pioneer town in the Śląskie metropolitan region, from which people between 18-26 years old left for bigger cities or abroad for education and to find a job.
This is a nostalgic story about the period after coming of age. This is a time when young adults are starting new social roles like becoming parents and being full-time employees. These new roles define their daily lives and begin to shape their personalities. In this series, I shed light on motherhood for today’s young Poles and women’s romantic relationships (or lack of them). I observe how their bodies are changing. Besides natural changes, I also look at how they express themselves with their bodies, cosmetic changes like tattoos, plastic surgeries, or piercings.
‘Going through this process was easier when I returned to the place where I grew up, a place that I demonized and that I wanted to leave very much.’
The topic that I focused on when I was taking pictures — and what interested me the most — were the changes taking place in the lives of young adults. The reason was simple — I was going through the same period of time. Going through this process was easier when I returned to the place where I grew up, a place that I demonized and that I wanted to leave very much. As a result, this project is not only a story about the people I photograph. Due to my personal connection with these characters and the place where they live, it’s also a story about me. It's a story about a change of approach. The creation of this story was simply a reaction to loneliness and homesickness. It's an answer to questions about adulthood when most from your past are shaping their adult lives and settling down.
‘One of the turning points for me was the birth of one of my heroine's children. Experiencing the emotions before and after, the mood of anticipation, it was all so intense.’
Since the project is documentary in nature, my main assumption was to observe the everyday life of my heroes. One of the turning points for me was the birth of one of my heroine's children. Experiencing the emotions before and after, the mood of anticipation, it was all so intense. I had never experienced this type of feeling between people before. I also think that it was extraordinary proof of the trust people had in me, who let me into their homes, for which I am extremely grateful.
For the most documentary style of photography, I decided to use a medium-format analog camera. I also wanted to emphasize the documentary look with the choice of colors, leaving the photographs in gray tones.
I came back to Racibórz after a few years of absence. I started to meet and, most importantly, talk to the girls I knew when I was younger. I attempt to portray the everyday life of a small town. I do this by accompanying my heroines in their most 'important moments,' such as various sacred Polish ceremonies: childbirth, baptism, wedding, and birthdays. However, I do not want to exaggerate these events in the project. I attach the same importance to routine. My presence at these events and my documentation of them, however, is not the classic approach of a local photographer. My presence becomes part of the events: I’m invited, and I'm not just a random observer. In this project, I want to show that there is no one point of view and that the idea of happiness depends only on individual needs. I wanted it to be a story about people I value, showing that each personality is significant and interesting.
