Mission Zambia – a living world

Paulina Okręglicka

This is Paulina Okręglicka’s photographic story about everyday life at a Catholic mission in an African village, where the day is marked by the first and last rays of the sun and the bustle of a marketplace. During the nine-week stay at the centre of a different culture, more happened than during the six months of preparation for the trip, and every moment was so vivid and fleeting that only the shutter of the camera could freeze time for even a fraction of a second. The photographs shown in the exhibition convey the most captivating elements of the different landscapes as well as the rich Zambian culture. Tribal traditions intertwined with the laws of the Republic of Zambia are only a fraction of what can be called an insight into the local world, of which the author of the exhibition has attempted to convey at least a substitute through her photographs.

The main motivation for the adventure on another continent was the time spent with the youngest generation of Zambians. This is also what the story is about. The author of the photographs will explain why women wear Chitenge and what Umutomboko is. She will also share her reflections on why Zambia remains in her memory as a …. a living world.