Polish photographer Łukasz Spychała’s art is characterized by diversity and variety. He believes that his images share the strange perspective from which he observes the world.
“Thanks to my parents, I understood from an early age that what we look at evokes emotions in us, and by taking photographs, you can show someone else the perspective that affects us most powerfully,” says Łukasz, whose parents were also involved in photography. So from an early age, he understood that it was a way to share a part of one’s own soul with others. Nevertheless, he wanted to experiment with what he had to do, he wanted to choose his own path and not let it choose him, out of sheer habit or parental pressure.
Although he started out in digital photography, as most people do, he eventually settled on the world of analog technology. He was captivated by the meticulousness of the process, every detail of which has to be perfectly composed if he wants to see his vision in the final result. He now often feels that the process itself, or the contemplation and planning of it, is sometimes more interesting than the result itself.
“My art is a part of me. What I have experienced, am experiencing at the moment, my thoughts, my dreams, and worst nightmares,” he said when asked how he would define his art. For him, honesty is the most important thing, which is why he doesn’t mind that his works change as he changes. He doesn’t want to limit himself just to create a unified stylistic world, because the most valuable thing is to be able to communicate as clearly as possible with the viewer.
In addition to self-expression, he values the encounters that take place during a photo shoot, which give him the opportunity for deep conversations and where he can experience that someone fully understands his concept.
We asked Łukasz to choose three photos that are the most important to him right now. Of the first (below), which won the International Photography Awards’ grand prize for analog photography, he initially thought it was the weakest image in the series, but his loved ones persuaded him to submit it, and he later realized that it had captured something he had previously been unable to show.
The second photo he chose (below) is very dear to him, as he and his girlfriend worked on it together. They wanted to show the duality of being torn between the two possibilities of growing up and being a child. It is no coincidence that the series is called Adolescence. “The culmination between childhood and adulthood, in my opinion, is the golden means, where we are adults, but we allow our inner child to speak, listen to his needs, and fulfill our childhood dreams when we are adults,” explains Łukasz.
The last picture he chose holds a special place in his oeuvre, as it marks the beginning of a new era in which he gives more space to the child within him, who simply wants to play with shapes to express his ideas. Through this image, he wanted to give form to the realization of the importance of time in understanding each other, because when we meet at the wrong time, we are sometimes unable to take in each other’s point of view.
The protagonist of the story—breadpit
With the Onyx team, you can watch the fireworks on August 20 from a boat, with some bubbles
