Gdansk Shipyard's Workers
At the end of Second World War Poland was left in ruins and under the Soviet Union regime. The Polish country under the communist regime very badly suffered politically, economically and socially. Alike as many other nations in the Eastern Bloc, the Polish nation didn’t agree with what was imposed on them by the communist regime.
In December 1970 the soviet Union increased prices while pay remained the same. As a consequence the Gdansk Shipyard’s workers began a peaceful protests. They walked on the streets of Gdansk, accused of riots; they were attacked by the heavily armed troops. In August 1980 they again suspended work and began peaceful protests against the ruthless regime. This time they locked themselves in the shipyard for their own safety, remaining there from the 14th to 31st of August. Their protest was finalised by agreement that gave them greater human rights, the right to strike and most importantly they gained the right to legalize the first non-communist labour party in the whole of Eastern Europe. The peaceful movement, led by Lech Walesa, who later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, influenced other nations for peaceful protest against the Soviet Union regime. Nine years later, the Polish nation overthrew communism in their country, becoming the first independent and democratic country in the whole of Eastern Europe.
30 years after the historic events I undertook a project about the Gdansk Shipyard landscape. The days I spent in the demolished shipyard made me fall in love with the place and they awakened my patriotism towards my motherland. Moreover, they raised questions in relation to the absence of the workers, such as, why they are not here and what happened to them. The closed down shipyard suggested to me that the transformation of Poland from a communist to a democratic country was not kind to the shipyard workers. I was influenced by the lifeless workshops and the motionless, creaking wind cranes. I began to establish contacts with people who used to work there and found out what happened to them during the strikes and soon after. I hoped for a positive not ironic end of their heroism. I didn’t want to discover them in the same living conditions that they had fought to escape.
According to photography theorist Graham Clarke, in the 19th century Hills and Adams photographed the whole body of working class people in order to pay them respect. The Shipyard workers are not celebrities; they are people most viewers will not recognize. It is therefore necessary to include the whole body and the environment chosen by the worker, to give the viewer enough information for them to be able to get to know who they are now. Influenced by August Sander, I photograph the shipyard workers in the locations where they belong to, where they feel the most confortable. These locations express their unique personalities and let us learn about them.
Gdansk Shipyard workers are incredibly modest people and they underestimate their contribution to my and to the next generations in the whole Eastern Europe. Many times they were overlooked by people and misunderstood by media. Therefore by the use of the large format camera I’m expressing my respect towards them and the seriousness of the project. Still, the high standard of the photographic process barely reflects the scale of their heroic deeds. This project it is not only a message for the next generations, it is also a message to the shipyard workers in order to make them proud for who they are.
The use of the colour suggests the positive accent of the project, moving forward, towards a better future. That is how many of those workers feel 30 years after the fall of the communism. Let’s never forget about the shipyard workers who had the courage to face the Soviet Union regime.
This project is dedicated to their perseverance in their deeds.
In December 1970 the soviet Union increased prices while pay remained the same. As a consequence the Gdansk Shipyard’s workers began a peaceful protests. They walked on the streets of Gdansk, accused of riots; they were attacked by the heavily armed troops. In August 1980 they again suspended work and began peaceful protests against the ruthless regime. This time they locked themselves in the shipyard for their own safety, remaining there from the 14th to 31st of August. Their protest was finalised by agreement that gave them greater human rights, the right to strike and most importantly they gained the right to legalize the first non-communist labour party in the whole of Eastern Europe. The peaceful movement, led by Lech Walesa, who later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, influenced other nations for peaceful protest against the Soviet Union regime. Nine years later, the Polish nation overthrew communism in their country, becoming the first independent and democratic country in the whole of Eastern Europe.
30 years after the historic events I undertook a project about the Gdansk Shipyard landscape. The days I spent in the demolished shipyard made me fall in love with the place and they awakened my patriotism towards my motherland. Moreover, they raised questions in relation to the absence of the workers, such as, why they are not here and what happened to them. The closed down shipyard suggested to me that the transformation of Poland from a communist to a democratic country was not kind to the shipyard workers. I was influenced by the lifeless workshops and the motionless, creaking wind cranes. I began to establish contacts with people who used to work there and found out what happened to them during the strikes and soon after. I hoped for a positive not ironic end of their heroism. I didn’t want to discover them in the same living conditions that they had fought to escape.
According to photography theorist Graham Clarke, in the 19th century Hills and Adams photographed the whole body of working class people in order to pay them respect. The Shipyard workers are not celebrities; they are people most viewers will not recognize. It is therefore necessary to include the whole body and the environment chosen by the worker, to give the viewer enough information for them to be able to get to know who they are now. Influenced by August Sander, I photograph the shipyard workers in the locations where they belong to, where they feel the most confortable. These locations express their unique personalities and let us learn about them.
Gdansk Shipyard workers are incredibly modest people and they underestimate their contribution to my and to the next generations in the whole Eastern Europe. Many times they were overlooked by people and misunderstood by media. Therefore by the use of the large format camera I’m expressing my respect towards them and the seriousness of the project. Still, the high standard of the photographic process barely reflects the scale of their heroic deeds. This project it is not only a message for the next generations, it is also a message to the shipyard workers in order to make them proud for who they are.
The use of the colour suggests the positive accent of the project, moving forward, towards a better future. That is how many of those workers feel 30 years after the fall of the communism. Let’s never forget about the shipyard workers who had the courage to face the Soviet Union regime.
This project is dedicated to their perseverance in their deeds.