- Email: [email protected]
Kacper Kowalski's visions of industrial splendour
For more books and arts coverage and to add your comments, visit www.NewScientist.com/blogs/culturelab
Photography: Kacper Kowalski
Industrial splendour AERIAL photography was forbidden in communist-era Poland. Since the ban was lifted 17 years ago, Kacper Kowalski has been paragliding over the industrial heart of his homeland, taking photographs of its denuded yet eerily beautiful landscapes. This picture, from the series Toxic Beauty, shows ash from a coal-fired power station in Turek. The opencast mine that feeds the station has been eating up 100 hectares of land a year since mining began in 1964. But two years from now, the landscape will start to change again as it is converted into a wind farm. Kowalski’s images can be hard to interpret at first glance. From the air, chemical factories, gypsum heaps and lignite mines take on a new splendour. “When I show these photographs to people, I notice how their attitude towards them changes when they read the caption,” says Kowalski. “First they say ‘beautiful’ then, once they realise what they’re looking at, only ‘incredible’ or ‘unbelievable’.” Even Kowalski is sometimes surprised by his images. “I was planning to photograph the heavy industry with all the dirt and destruction it leaves behind, but I could see only these powerful structures and patterns that, in different circumstances, would be considered as unique landscapes.” He does not see himself as a campaigner, but says that seeing the impact humans have on the landscape be can a powerful motivation for change. One company even offered to buy the copyright of the photographs he had taken of their facility, to prevent them being published. “I was surprised,” Kowalski says, “because the pictures were showing the beauty of their factory.” Kowalski declined the offer. Clint Witchalls For more Kacper Kowalski landscapes see our gallery at bit.ly/atRbyP 9 October 2010 | NewScientist | 51
Photography: Kacper Kowalski
Industrial splendour AERIAL photography was forbidden in communist-era Poland. Since the ban was lifted 17 years ago, Kacper Kowalski has been paragliding over the industrial heart of his homeland, taking photographs of its denuded yet eerily beautiful landscapes. This picture, from the series Toxic Beauty, shows ash from a coal-fired power station in Turek. The opencast mine that feeds the station has been eating up 100 hectares of land a year since mining began in 1964. But two years from now, the landscape will start to change again as it is converted into a wind farm. Kowalski’s images can be hard to interpret at first glance. From the air, chemical factories, gypsum heaps and lignite mines take on a new splendour. “When I show these photographs to people, I notice how their attitude towards them changes when they read the caption,” says Kowalski. “First they say ‘beautiful’ then, once they realise what they’re looking at, only ‘incredible’ or ‘unbelievable’.” Even Kowalski is sometimes surprised by his images. “I was planning to photograph the heavy industry with all the dirt and destruction it leaves behind, but I could see only these powerful structures and patterns that, in different circumstances, would be considered as unique landscapes.” He does not see himself as a campaigner, but says that seeing the impact humans have on the landscape be can a powerful motivation for change. One company even offered to buy the copyright of the photographs he had taken of their facility, to prevent them being published. “I was surprised,” Kowalski says, “because the pictures were showing the beauty of their factory.” Kowalski declined the offer. Clint Witchalls For more Kacper Kowalski landscapes see our gallery at bit.ly/atRbyP 9 October 2010 | NewScientist | 51