Pawel Franik says about himself:
“My name is Pawel Franik. I live in Knurów, Poland. I was born on February 22, 1991. I’m studying Film and Photography on WST. For me photography is something special, it allows me to hold moments in my hand. I especially like to shoot minimal scenes which nonetheless are dense with meaning, and hidden meanings in particular.”
AWARDS
2016 – Finalist ARTYSTYCZNA PODRÓ HESTII – ‘ON HIS OWN’ series
2016 – Grand Prize – GOLDEN ORCHID INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL Pennsylvania
2015 – Shortlist LEICA OSKAR BARNACK AWARD – ‘ON HIS OWN’ series
2015 – TIFF Festiwal DEBUTS – Distinction – ‘ON HIS OWN’ series
2015 – VIII ART NAIF FESTIVAL – 1st place photo award
2015 – PROJEKT PRZETWÓRNIA / DIGITAL CAMERA Distinction – ‘ON HIS OWN’ series
2012 – AROUND THE ROCK FESTIVAL – 3rd place
2008 – PRZYRODA OJCZYSTA – 1st place
EXHIBITIONS
2016 – Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw – ARTYSTYCZNA PODRÓ HESTII in Warsaw/Poland
2016 – ON HIS OWN – solo exhibition, Gallery 5 in Katowice/Poland
2016 – KOPALNIA OBRAZÓW IX ‘ekran_y” in Katowice/Poland
2015 – VIII ART NAIF FESTIVAL ‘scandinavia colors’ in Katowice/Poland
2015 – HOUSE OF CULTURE in Knurów/Poland
2015 – XII INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY in Rybnik/Poland
2013 – URBAN ART ZABRZE in Zabrze/Poland
2009 – WIRE’S FACTORY group exhibition in Gliwice/Poland
[white_box]PERSONAL WEBSITE[/white_box]
About ‘On His Own’:
The photographic series entitled ‘On His Own’ shows a human as an individual, as a loner in a big space that surrounds them. The purpose of this series is to draw attention to the fact of being alone, just with one’s own self.
Very often, the viewers blame photographers for showing the sad picture of loneliness. I show this loneliness as something peculiar, something entirely human. Because every one of us, whether lonely or living in a happy relationship and having their own family, everyone needs their moment of loneliness, the moment of devoting attention to just their own self, their own thoughts, and reflections.
We live in the world of tremendous acceleration and the constant quest for our purposes, in the world where there is no place for the proverbial ‘minute for one’s own self,’ for the time when you could stop, talk to your own thoughts and feel the desirable harmony. From minute to minute, we outlive our lives and get lost in this rush. Would it be worth to stop and look deep into our hearts?
The purity of form, with the minimalistic exposure of a human profile, is a deliberate measure of the photographic aesthetics. Without any unnecessary additions, in pure simplicity, form and content indicate the man’s separation as an individual in their private emotional space. The photographs of ‘On His Own’ series are an attempt of showing the beauty that can be seen in the vein of minimalism.
