Close to the ground, far from heaven

In times when nationalistic attitudes are more and more often heard, I have been looking for answers to what the homeland is for me.

“The mayor bought the paraglider

He said he saw the cosmos

But the truth is,

that he just flew over our village” *

*Part of song by Łukasz "Lewy" Kalupa, local rapper

There are places in which most of us are usually not interested. If you want to get there you need to drive off the main road, you need to look behind the sound walls, slow down and calm down your thoughts. I have traveled across Polish province and has been visiting places, which seemed to be abandoned and empty because everyone left for work: to nearby fields, to a larger town or to work abroad. Life has a different rhythm there and time passes much slower than in the cities. These places come to life only during holidays, harvest time, festivals - when stars from a talent show or “popular” music band come to perform there.

“Close to the ground, far from heaven" is a story about people who value peace, tradition and their connection to their place. At the same time they dream to be someone else. They want their life to become more expressive and exciting and contemporary “big world” is shining and tempting them with its colors. I’ve tried to define the concept of homeland as a microcosm. Place which is so important for people who live there. Place which they want to change but at the same time they want to stay connected and keep alive their tradition.