Archiwum fotoreportera
The Archive of a Press Photographer

Summary/Abstract: “I spent several weeks gazing at the presented photographs. Obviously, someone one might be inclined to describe them as ordinary. But the uniqueness of these small photos produce an awareness of the significance of the work performed by Jacek Sielski, artist and excellent press photographer. (...) Jacek Sielski is familiar with the Praga district. In this case, he chose as his leitmotif a single street with an adjoining area, namely, Brzeska Street and the Różycki Bazaar. In doing so, he demonstrated, to put it in plain terms, a lot of courage. Not all the residents of Brzeska Street were willing to pose for a photographer. (...) The photos were taken in the 1970s, the difficult years of the People’s Republic of Poland. (...) The proverbial stench and filth discernible in the photographs, the highly suspicious looking men and woman, and the omnipresent poverty are the symbols of those bad old days. It was also then that Brzeska Street became known as a ‘mean street’, dangerous, and full of thugs and prostitutes, an image which Jacek Sielski captured perfectly. Looking at his photos let us keep in mind that this is an image of a past epoch and inimitable situations, similar to those captured in the now rapidly vanishing Różycki market”.

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