Growing Album

Growing Album allows you to plant your „home“ wherever you are — literally. Made by handmade paper, embedded with seeds from my grandmothers garden and filled with my photographs from my homeland, Poland.

I grew up in Poland. Our house had always been a meeting point for the whole family, and everyone was more than welcome at any time. But because of Polish labor migration, my mother and I had to move to Germany. At twelve, I left my hometown, family, and friends behind.

I often traveled back to Poland, spending time with my family while searching for answers —how can photography capture the essence of home?

One of my memories is picking tomatoes in my grandmother‘s garden in Poland. I‘ve preserved the seeds of those tomatoes and paired them with an image of her garden, making this memory portable and rooted in a new, meaningful context. Planting it allows you to relive such moments, creating a bridge between past and present.

The ultimate goal is to enable individuals to carry a piece of their „home“ wherever they go, fostering a deeper connection to heritage and environment. These fragile materials are designed to change and grow when planted, making impermanence and transformation part of the photographic experience. This project transforms intangible memories into something tangible. The process of embedding seedsinto paper became both a conceptual and physical act of care, reflecting on how we root ourselves in new places. Rather than preserving memories as static images, I treat the photographic object as something alive—open to decay, renewal, and a dialogue with the environment.

The purpose of this project is to draw attention to the themes of migration and identity. The seeds in this project serve two purposes: As a preservation tool, embodying heritage and continuity. As a metaphor for rooting, symbolizing the ability to grow (up) and thrive in new environments.

This approach challenges traditional ideas of permanence in photography, favoring a cyclical view where home can be planted, grow, and take on new forms. It also speaks to experiences of migration—how identity, like a seed, can be carried, nurtured, and allowed to flourish elsewhere. Through this work, I invite viewers to engage with their own sense of belonging, transforming the act of viewing into a process of remembrance, transformation, and hope.

Growing Album - Ewelina Bialoszewska