WELCOME

The cuckoo migrating bird lays its eggs in other birds' nests, so its little nestlings are raised by unknown parents.

During our lives, there are several opportunities to choose a family in the form of different communities that shape our identity as a second family.

We cannot choose our relatives, but blood relation is an invisible link between us. We are closer to each other, we maintain close relationships, and have something in common between us - our family. Strangers may come closer to us than our own relatives, in which we can see the desired, real character. The role of family members missing or absent from my life is often filled by my immediate surroundings. The family is the basis of our identity as it connects us to traditions and culture. In order not to feel excluded, we need a symbolized story of our origins.

I have been collecting fake family relationships around myself. In real life, we cannot choose our relatives and family ties, but with the gesture of photography, I can get close to people and immerse myself in a desired family type and family situation.

Dreamed, desired, sympathetic people; activities reminding home; feeling the home, itself.

Beyond my circle of friends, I look for characters who are similar to me and who are missing from my life. I go to other people's houses and apartments and settle into a home role in a very short time. The strangers I meet for the first time are also forced to play this unusual game. I only go to places where, knowing the concept, they welcome me, that's why the series got the title Welcome.

The series also has a book form, because the photobook is a medium that allows you to turn the pages back and thus make a quick comparison. This characteristic is also important because in the series I play with photographing different people in the same location and situation, and I also use repetition of clothes for the purpose of confusion.

With the gesture of turning the page back, we can quickly compare two images, and this creates a feeling of uncertainty about the characters.

At first glance, the pictures are fragments of a family's history, but upon longer examination and revisiting the pages, we can notice that we see more fathers, more mothers, too many siblings, and many different locations, but I am everywhere. With these, I bring down the fictitious nature of the family.

After a careful inspection, there is a face or gesture that has already been seen. Which one is a real relative?

Krystyna Bilak is part of Issue 17 by Guest Editor Torbjørn Rødland.

Check out her Artist Feature Let Your Eyes Dance.