Karolina Wojtas
We Can't Live – Without Each Other
Until the age of thirteen, Karolina Wojtas was an only child. Every time her parents would ask her if she wanted a brother or sister, she kept saying “I will take an axe and kill that kid and then eat it.” When her baby brother was born, the war between them started and it is still going on. The project We Can't Live – Without Each Other (2019–) is a documentation of their battles and tricks, meant to teach siblings from all over the world how to fight.
Karolina Wojtas, We Can’t Live Without Each Other, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Karolina Wojtas, We Can’t Live Without Each Other, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Karolina Wojtas, We Can’t Live Without Each Other, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
The series of striking images at the same time offers an intimate view into the complex bonds between siblings – a familiar love-hate relationship with some extreme and violent elements. Her photographs portray a battleground with a domestic feel, violent and playful, depicting the brutality of an intimate relationship known to many, but one few would dare to display outside the walls of their childhood homes. In most cases, the fights between siblings remain hidden along with childhood toys and other memorabilia.
Karolina Wojtas' colourful, playful and expressive photographs create an immersive experience in which the viewer can feel like a child again. Combining bold aesthetics with dark humour creates a surrealistic atmosphere where it’s difficult to distinguish between real memories and fictional stories.
Karolina Wojtas' colourful, playful and expressive photographs create an immersive experience in which the viewer can feel like a child again. Combining bold aesthetics with dark humour creates a surrealistic atmosphere where it’s difficult to distinguish between real memories and fictional stories.
Karolina Wojtas, We Can’t Live Without Each Other, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
Karolina Wojtas (1996) is a photographer who gets inspiration from random objects, children’s fantasies and her childhood memories, creating a colourful world of experiment and endless fun. She graduated from Film School Lodź and Institute of Creative Photography in the Czech Republic. Wojtas exhibited her works in many solo and group exhibitions in Poland and internationally (Foam in Amsterdam (2021), Noorderlicht International Photo Festival (2020), Gallery Naga in Warsaw (2020), Bratislava Month of Photography (2019)). Among awards and acknowledgements for her work are the nomination for reGeneration 4: The Challenges of Photography and its Museum for Tomorrow in Musée de l’Elysée, a special mention at Plat(f)orm 2020 in Fotomuseum Winterthur, winning c/o Berlin Award (2022), the ING Unseen Talent Award (2019), Amsterdam, and the Tiff Open (2018) at Tiff Festival Wrocław. Her work has appeared in The British Journal of Photography, Lampoon Magazine, L’uomo Vogue, Superpaper, Tampon – Ordinary Magazine, Causette, and Das Magazin Switzerland. Karolina Wojtas is represented by Vasli Souza in Oslo.
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