Zofia Rydet. World of Feelings and Imagination

"World of Feelings and Imagination" – Zofia Rydet's unique photomontages

How can photography tell a story about life? One of the most outstanding Polish photographers, Zofia Rydet, did it through surreal photomontages and surprising visual metaphors. From June 9, her unique series "World of Feelings and Imagination" can be seen in the Zielona Brama, a branch of the National Museum in Gdańsk.

For over five decades, Zofia Rydet created extensive photographic series, seeking new forms of expression and constructing her own visual language. Today, she is considered one of the most important Polish photographers of the 20th century. At the center of her attention she invariably placed man, his fate, struggles, and transformations, to which she dedicated subsequent photographic projects.

The series "World of Feelings and Imagination", consisting of nearly one hundred photographs arranged into seventeen series: "Landscapes", "Birth", "Motherhood", "Expectations", "Departures", "Behind the Wall of Life", "In Love", "Sentimental Ballad", "Annihilation", "Mannequins", "Phantoms", "Longing", "Solitude", "Threat", "Obsessions", "Transformations", "Hope", was created between 1968 and 1975 and is the culmination of the period when the artist explored photomontage techniques and surrealist aesthetics.