Hills Hoist

Photography has been a constant thread throughout my life, shaped by the environment of my childhood. Growing up in a small village in Poland during the fall of communism, I witnessed a community strong in resilience. Our family, like many others, carried the scars of WWII. These early years taught me to find beauty in everyday moments and to appreciate the power of storytelling.

Through my work, I seek to capture the fleeting magic of childhood, the echoes of untold stories, and memories of both fear and wonder that shaped my early years. I am drawn to the symbolism found in mundane details. Whether through portraits or landscapes, my work is a reflection of life’s impermanence.

My upcoming exhibition is inspired by an old Hills Hoist clothesline I photographed on a rural property in East Gippsland. I first encountered a Hills Hoist in a suburban backyard shortly after I migrated to Australia in 2009. Rusty, noisy and rotating in the wind, this oddly domestic device evoked memories of my rural childhood, and made plain the new reality I was now living in.