2008 Diploma under Artistic Supervision
Painting: prof. Krzysztof Wachowiak
Batik (Artistic Fabrics): prof. Dorota Grynczel
Theoretical Part: dr Piotr Szubert

The Diploma is dedicated to my grandmother...

The Railway Journal consists of three strictly connected parts. The railway is what links all the parts, namely painting, batik as well as the theoretical part. The inspiration for my works derives from the journey from my hometown, Ustron, to Warsaw, where I continued my English studies at Warsaw University (American culture and literature). Then another station appeared - The Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw, the Faculty of Painting. The journey is the epitomy of searching, introspection, discovering the inner self. The sentimental element is also crucial here, since missing my hometown and the mountains was a great incentive in terms of my inspiration.

My passion for railway has gradually evolved into a fascinating experience. I have been observing it to become more mature, changing its shapes, conquering new territories, exploring the unknown. The urge to discover new paths is more and more alluring. I am aware of that, it is no longer just an impulse, some unknown force that pushes you forward. Yet, this nonverbal, undefinable element is still an indispensable part of this journey, thus making it unique. I only know the first and the last station, and sometimes even the last station remains a mystery. What seems to be meticulously planned, each single minute taken into account, might become an improvisation, a journey to the unknown, a variation on... The strangers that share the same compartment of time and place may suddenly become somebody close. The atmosphere and the conditions are encouraging to start a conversation. The passangers realize that it is the first and the last time they meet co-passangers, which makes them more open. They show you the intimate baggage of experience. They get off the train at the next station and what is left is just a trace, memory, but in most cases we forget about them very quicly.

The mechanism of building the relations between the passangers is what interests me most. One may listen to the conversations, pretending not to hear anything. One may join the conversation, or just be a neutral observer, creating the identity of passangers on the basis of a few sentences, clothes, gestures, looks.

The theoretical part of my Diploma, my Notes from the Journey, captures the moments and the passangers that constitute my intimate baggage of experience. It's a record of my interviews conducted on the train with complete strangers, and the interviews with the professional railwaymen. My intention was to be just an observer, yet the report would not be complete, since I am, first of all, a co-passanger. That is why it is also subjective to a great extent. In the theoretical part I avoid sophisticated form and structure, I wanted my passangers to speak for themselves. Snapshots, being in constant movement, without the beginning, without the ending, impressions. Sometimes I dream of travelling without a ticket. My ticket is open and I do not know where I will arrive finally... have a nice trip.