Augustis: Two Homelands

The project is the result of more than twenty years of work on the Augustis archive. Its origins lie in a sensational discovery made in 2004, when approximately 12,000 negatives by Augustis dating from 1935–1938 were found in an old shed in the Bialystok.

The exhibition features more than 100 photographs — from street scenes of pre-war Białystok to intimate images taken by Augustis after emigrating to New Zealand. Bringing together both worlds of the photographer, the exhibition presents Augustis as an artist, a witness to the twentieth century, and a migrant whose biography stretched between two of the most distant points on the globe.

The exhibition is accompanied by a second, revised and expanded edition of the photobook „Augustis", originally published in 2010.

The new edition includes previously unpublished information about the photographer’s life, gathered during research visits to New Zealand, as well as four photographs taken by Augustis in the Antipodes. The graphic design of the publication has also been completely updated.

Published in an edition of 500 copies, the 224-page volume presents 100 photographs, primarily documenting pre-war Białystok. The image selection was made by Grzegorz Dąbrowski; graphic design was prepared by Anna Nałęcka-Milach (Tapir Book Design); introductory essays were written by Monika Żmijewska and Wojciech Nowicki; and the historical captions were edited by Andrzej Lechowski. The publication is also available in English.