Krzysztof Gołuch – Hotel

#3 min Michał Szalast, Krzysztof Gołuch

6. 5. 2023

Krzysztof Goluch, Hotel, Katowice, 2015–2020
Krzysztof Goluch, Hotel, Katowice, 2015–2020

For over twenty years, Krzysztof Gołuch has been focusing on the lives of people with disabilities. The length of the period is a guarantee that this is not a cold account of an outside observer. We can be sure that it is not about stupefying scenes of suffering that quickly and easily attract attention or an attempt to impress with pictorial virtuosity.

#44 EmpathyProfileSociety

The history of photography contains a number of series devoted to disability. They can be very subtle in their form but, at the same time, very superficial. Many photographers have not had the opportunity to work on this subject in depth because they have been in the world of disability for too short a time and often their aim has been only to satisfy the curiosity of the audience. Krzysztof Gołuch (1966) chose a different path. His series Rugby, depicting disabled athletes, and especially his book Co Siódmy (Every Seventh One) are the best examples of a completely opposite approach to the subject. 

The author reminds us that according to statistics, one in seven people in Poland is a disabled person. He also says that good health is not given to us for life. This trivial but, at the same time, harsh truth encourages us to see disabled people from a completely different perspective. And Krzysztof Gołuch's photographs are just such a reflection. We stop looking at disabled people from the standpoint of the comfort of health. Our position is no longer privileged in relation to people who deserve help. There is an unusual exchange. The disabled are fulfilling the role of teachers showing how to maintain a fundamental quality, i.e., self-worth, without possessions, admiration, and short-term fame. Disabled people who do not have the opportunity to compete for success with able-bodied people are seemingly in a losing position. But we could not be more wrong. 

Work is one of the fundamental values of life. It consumes time, balanced by a sense of being needed, useful and important. The able-bodied, as well as the disabled, can take pride in their work and gain a reward that is not convertible into any world currency – a sense of dignity.

The optimized world we live in tends to minimize effort and maximize profits. Already today, robots are performing activities that were previously performed by humans. The focus is shifting from work to consumption. The generally accepted desire is to work as little as possible and to earn and spend as much as possible. This rush for the effect of goodness that is not redeemed by any effort is proving unsustainable. We need humility and an example that will enable us to find another way. All these foundations for a happy and satisfying life can be found in the photographs of Krzysztof Gołuch who reveals through his narratives about disabled people how work gives purpose to human life.

Text | Michal Szalast

IMAGES CAPTIONS

1–5 | Krzysztof Goluch, Hotel, Katowice, 2015–2020

#44 EmpathyProfileSocietyNarrativeParticipationDocumentInstitutional critiqueEmpathyPhotoreport

Michał Szalast

(1979) is a Polish photographer, curator, documentary filmmaker and lecturer at the Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University in Opava. He has worked as a photojournalist for the daily press and for the East News Forum Photographers and Polish Press Agency. This year, he published his first book, Albíni (Albinos).

Krzysztof Gołuch

is Polish photographer and educator, currently, a doctoral student at the University of Opava. His work revolves around the problems of human existence, especially the lives of people with disabilities. He is a member of the Polish Union of Art Photographers, author of the photo book ‘Every Seventh One’. In 2017, he was decorated by Pope Francis with a Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal. 

#44 Empathy

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#3 min Barbora Vanická Čápová

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Fotograf zone Editorial picsCurating

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#2 min Amak Mahmoodian , Peter Watkins

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#50 AuthenticityProfilePolitical

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Fotograf zone ExhibitionFotograf Zone Gallery

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