The camera obscura (Latin; camera for "vaulted chamber/room", obscura for "dark", together "darkened chamber/room"; plural: camera obscuras or camerae obscurae) is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography and the camera. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside, where it is reproduced, rotated 180 degrees (thus upside-down), but with color and perspective preserved. The image can be projected onto paper, and can then be traced to produce a highly accurate representation.
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O-Twórz Lublin!
is a cyclic event that has been organised by Grupa Projekt Cultural Association since 2011. O-Twórz Lublin! is an initiative that links two domains – traditional photography and cityscape, creating a set of new relationships with residents and participants. We have initiated a series of unique socio-cultural events and educational activities centering on artistic practices. Using a simple yet effective means of communication – a pinhole camera (camera obscura), which has been custom-built by Marcin Moszyński, we aim to build a multi-layered image of the city. Together with the project’s participants, we find new footing as well as get to know anew our place in the urban public space. What by definition is public, hence nobody’s, becomes communal. By revealing its hidden attractions, the city becomes appealing to the eyes of the collective beholder. The educational dimension of the O-Twórz Lublin! Project is emphasised by the leitmotif of the meetings – homing in on the history of the city, on the cultural heritage of Lublin, on its topography and specificity as well as on the long-standing tradition of photography inextricably linked with the city as embodied by the Hartwig family and Stefan Kiełsznia. In 2011, our main aim was to integrate the residents of Lublin, rallying them round a shared goal. To do so, we instigated a flashmob – we exchanged all information regarding the planned event online; the project’s website was advertised on enigmatic posters all over the city. Upon arriving on the scene at the right time, each participant was given a DIY pinhole camera template. Photos taken by the participants during the course of the entire project were shown online, while selected ones became part of a pinhole photography exhibition organised in Lublin’s public space. Also, each participant was given the photo they had taken as well as the cube-shaped pinhole camera, which – if folded the other way round – could be used as a cuboid photo holder. In 2012, we organised Meetings-Events devoted to three topics: Generation Portraits, Lublin Hills, and Craft Workshops. That year we switched our emphasis from the activity of integration to the cultivation of relationships. The events’ activist character ceased to be of primary importance as the exchange of experiences and involvement with the process became more central. This time around, our meetings and shared photography sessions were accompanied by a competition: five best photos were transferred onto porcelain plates, which – with the name and surname of the photographer underneath – were fixed onto facades of select town houses in the Old Town. The relationship between the city and the residents of Lublin was immortalised in this tangible way. As an added value, during our 2012 meetings and events we managed to foster partnership with business entities, which enthusiastically supported the project. The five porcelain photographs mark the beginning of an alternative tour of Lublin, which will be gradually extended to include more off-the-beaten-track sites. Altogether, over the course of three years, we organised eight meetings, six of which were centred round collective photo sessions, and in 2013 we initiated pinhole photography workshops complemented by group darkroom tutorials. Together, we went on the lookout for City Traits, once again alluding to Lublin’s industrial past. To this day, over 600 people – direct beneficiaries of the project – participated in the activities organised under the auspices of O-Twórz Lublin! Each year the initiative is endorsed by the City of Lublin, and increasingly so by Lublin-based fimrs and institutions, such as Kamienice Miasta Ltd., and The Guild of Lublin.
Our photographs reveal all that has been concealed and ambiguous so far, aiding us in seeking beauty everywhere – especially where it is underexposed. Each series of O-Twórz Lublin! is accompanied by photography exhibitions as well postcards containnig pinhole photos taken by the participants of the project. The project itself leads a double life: apart from its real life incarnation, it is available online. Photos uploaded to the
Our photographs reveal all that has been concealed and ambiguous so far, aiding us in seeking beauty everywhere – especially where it is underexposed. Each series of O-Twórz Lublin! is accompanied by photography exhibitions as well postcards containnig pinhole photos taken by the participants of the project. The project itself leads a double life: apart from its real life incarnation, it is available online. Photos uploaded to the
O-Twórcz Lublin! website are accompanied by in-depth commentary as well as texts on the photographic medium and visual culture; there are also little-known yet interesting facts about Lublin.
