Karolina Wojtas: Abzgram: C/O Berlin Talent Awards 2022

Offbeat photographic compositions critiquing the rigidity of the Polish school system

Polish multimedia artist Karolina Wojtas (born 1996) has been working on her latest project Abzgram since 2017. In it, she breaches every conceivable rule of photography from oversaturated colors to blurred imagery to her aggressive use of flash. Her images feature scenarios, sometimes candid and sometimes staged, that respond with caustic irony to the rigid Polish school system, whose imposition of rules on children has a streak of militarism to it: stand still, do not touch each other, keep your hands by your sides, look straight ahead. Printed on various materials and surfaces, the photographs transform exhibition spaces into room-size installations that visitors can walk through. Drawing from her own experience in school, the artist invites readers to transport themselves back to the world of childhood via a process of reenactment.