Warsaw-based photographer Marta Zgierska (born 1987) has always been interested in reflecting her fears in her photographic work. However, in 2013, while Zgierska was in the middle of creating a series, something unforeseen happened: fears became reality and she was involved in a car accident. After months of surgeries, physical limitations and the aggravation of her anxiety neurosis, she decided to finish her work.
Apparently, the accident didn’t hinder her creative process, on the contrary: the resulting series, Post, received the Prix HSBC pour la Photographie this year. In May, GUP Magazine talked with Zgierska about the way in which her work changed after the accident and how she managed to make such personal work recognizable for other people.
Apparently, the accident didn’t hinder her creative process, on the contrary: the resulting series, Post, received the Prix HSBC pour la Photographie this year. In May, GUP Magazine talked with Zgierska about the way in which her work changed after the accident and how she managed to make such personal work recognizable for other people.
Anne Rosenberg : Fear and trauma studies are quite heavy topics. Where does your interest in them stem from?
Marta Zgierska : I draw inspiration from my own experiences. Being in the middle of a problem sets your perspective. Because these subjects are so personal and close to me, they allow me to create something out of it. Simultaneously, I’m interested in researching theory based on trauma studies. Recently, the most important subject for me is the liminal experience.
Marta Zgierska : I draw inspiration from my own experiences. Being in the middle of a problem sets your perspective. Because these subjects are so personal and close to me, they allow me to create something out of it. Simultaneously, I’m interested in researching theory based on trauma studies. Recently, the most important subject for me is the liminal experience.
AR : Can you describe the process you went through while creating Post?
MZ : The idea for this series came to me a few years ago, when I found a feedback note from my primary school teacher, which was written when I was seven years old. The note is full of positive things about me. It describes how popular and talented I am. However, to me it never felt like this. And even after 20 years, I still feel as insecure as I did when I was a seven year old child. I have a very low self-esteem. After finding this note, I started to think about making a series about my anxieties and limitations. I wanted to put my fears into an aesthetic image.
MZ : The idea for this series came to me a few years ago, when I found a feedback note from my primary school teacher, which was written when I was seven years old. The note is full of positive things about me. It describes how popular and talented I am. However, to me it never felt like this. And even after 20 years, I still feel as insecure as I did when I was a seven year old child. I have a very low self-esteem. After finding this note, I started to think about making a series about my anxieties and limitations. I wanted to put my fears into an aesthetic image.
However, when I just finished some images, I had a car accident, which changed my life. I had a hard time, full of pain and surgeries. I continued my work. First, I took some images that were connected with my experiences just after the accident. I used real objects and artifacts from my life. For example, I photographed my coat with blood from the accident and a bowl of hair, which I lost because of pharmacological coma and medicine. I also built some installations, often using my body or my physical effort, and photographed them.
AR : The images don’t reflect any internal chaos though, they’re very structured and quiet. Why did you choose to visualize Post in such a polished way?
MZ : One big struggle I have to deal with on a daily basis is my perfectionism. The aesthetic form of Post reflects my personality. There’s always something liminal which stops me when I would like to run, scream or be spontaneous in communication with others. That’s why the series is very polished and perfect. I chose the grey colour because this defines silence and death and refers to the accident. Moreover, there’s no movement visible in my images. There are lot of installations and sculptures visible, which reflect my cold and frozen state of being after the accident.
MZ : One big struggle I have to deal with on a daily basis is my perfectionism. The aesthetic form of Post reflects my personality. There’s always something liminal which stops me when I would like to run, scream or be spontaneous in communication with others. That’s why the series is very polished and perfect. I chose the grey colour because this defines silence and death and refers to the accident. Moreover, there’s no movement visible in my images. There are lot of installations and sculptures visible, which reflect my cold and frozen state of being after the accident.
AR : Your previous series were inspired more by general events, rather than your personal experience. Was that a different experience for you?
MZ : Post is indeed the most personal work I ever made. My earlier work is different. Before I started working on Post, I also made photos which reflected troubles regarding communication disorders and processes of withdrawal. However, Post is more personal because of the car accident and its consequences, which had a big influence on me.
MZ : Post is indeed the most personal work I ever made. My earlier work is different. Before I started working on Post, I also made photos which reflected troubles regarding communication disorders and processes of withdrawal. However, Post is more personal because of the car accident and its consequences, which had a big influence on me.
AR : How is this change visible in your work?
MZ : My work became more physical and more connected with reality. Some images are actually quite harsh. Also, in Post itself, there’s a difference visible between the images I took before and after the accident. First, I just had the idea of framing my fears in a kind of aesthetic image, but after the accident, I had not only to deal with fears in my mind, but also with physical limitations and other problems, such as a break-up. This influenced my work and made my images more direct.
MZ : My work became more physical and more connected with reality. Some images are actually quite harsh. Also, in Post itself, there’s a difference visible between the images I took before and after the accident. First, I just had the idea of framing my fears in a kind of aesthetic image, but after the accident, I had not only to deal with fears in my mind, but also with physical limitations and other problems, such as a break-up. This influenced my work and made my images more direct.
AR : Considering you went through such a big change, how did you make sure that the images you took before the accident fit with the images you took afterwards, to make one coherent series?
MZ : All the photos are influenced by the same subject: neurosis. It is one story. The car accident is only one moment in my life which represents some part of my mental condition. For example, there’s a photo with fallen teeth. I thought about making this image already before the accident happened, but I developed the picture after the accident. Between the surgeries, when I was in a very bad condition, I often talked about making an image with teeth. This is something I don’t remember, my family told me about this later.
MZ : All the photos are influenced by the same subject: neurosis. It is one story. The car accident is only one moment in my life which represents some part of my mental condition. For example, there’s a photo with fallen teeth. I thought about making this image already before the accident happened, but I developed the picture after the accident. Between the surgeries, when I was in a very bad condition, I often talked about making an image with teeth. This is something I don’t remember, my family told me about this later.
AR : What do you think Post would have become if the accident had not happened? Would it look similar?
MZ : Honestly, I think I wouldn’t have finished the series if the accident hadn’t happened. One of my problems is that I find it hard to finish something which is related to myself, because I want to do it perfectly. The accident changed my life and gave me the inspiration to finish the series in a profound way.
MZ : Honestly, I think I wouldn’t have finished the series if the accident hadn’t happened. One of my problems is that I find it hard to finish something which is related to myself, because I want to do it perfectly. The accident changed my life and gave me the inspiration to finish the series in a profound way.
AR : So, that could be a kind of positive side effect from a terrible event?
MZ : Yes, you could say that the accident influenced my work in a positive way. However, this is just one side of the coin.
MZ : Yes, you could say that the accident influenced my work in a positive way. However, this is just one side of the coin.
