As Close as Eye Can See. Photographic workshops focused on sight

We conducted workshops with the owners of gardens in the Family Allotment Garden “Jedność,” which is located in Ruda Śląska on land built up from waste materials left after the extraction of hard coal.

The Family Allotment Garden “Jedność” was established on Bielszowicka Street in a location that once housed strawberry fields, thanks to a grassroots initiative by local residents in the 1980s. Due to mining damage, land subsidence, and the proximity to the Bielszowicki Stream, at the beginning of the 21st century, Bielszowicka Street began to flood, with water eventually reaching the gardens and submerging more and more plots. To mitigate the damage in this area, from 2011 to 2014, Kompania Węglowa deposited approximately 4 million tons of mineral aggregate, raising a total of 36.5 hectares of land adjacent to Bielszowicka Street, in some places by as much as 11 meters. In 2015, the city re-designated the land for allotment gardens, corresponding to its former location, and assigned parcels to residents who took on the challenge of restoring the gardens in an area that now resembled a flat heap of debris.

The theme of these workshops was the sense of sight, and their main goal was to create interactions that would enable residents to reflect on their relationships with the plants they regularly care for. We also wanted to encourage the garden owners to take a closer look at the opposite side of Bielszowicka Street, which had been “left to the mercy” of self-seeded plants.

Our primary tool during the workshops was a Polaroid camera with instant photo printing, along with a notebook in which we recorded selected statements and reflections from the allotment owners. We asked workshop participants to photograph a plant of their choice from their own garden as well as the area across the street. Each photo, in line with the poetic approach of a dictionary, was captioned with the name of the plant and—after a dash—the name of the photographer. Our own perspective was captured through photographs of the surroundings of the “Jedność” Allotment Garden.

The lens we adopted during the workshops allowed us to explore the close relationships between garden owners and the ornamental and useful plants they cultivate. It also helped us to recognize the limitations these relationships face due to health conditions, particularly eye diseases. Only two people responded to the invitation to photograph the plants growing on the opposite side of the street for various reasons, including health-related issues.