[slidepress gallery=’pawelglogowski_thewall’]

Hover over the image for navigation and full screen controls

Pawel Glogowski

The Wall

play this essay

 

To get to the Wall, take a lift to the tenth floor and from there climb the stairs to the eleventh. A small space in the loft has been successfully transformed into a cult place well known to a majority of climbing society, not only from Warsaw. For the last fifteen years the Wall has attracted a great number of people, climbing and making friendships. The Wall gained its high reputation not only because of the place itself but mostly because of the people climbing there. After all, you achieve the best results climbing with the right people. And, apart from documenting this place, that is what I wanted to show in this essay.

Featured climbers (in order of appearance) are: Belka, Marysia, Gosia, Gabi, Kasia, Przemek and Lasic.

During the last days of June 2010, the building’s residents managed to remove the Wall and take over the premises for their own, though still unspecified, purposes. One of the most fantastic places on the Warsaw climbing map disappeared. A place with a unique soul and atmosphere, which I first got to know from stories, and then through my own experience when I went there on several occasions to take photos and meet people who trained there. One of them was Gosia, a member of the National Climbing Team who sometimes cannot afford to buy a ticket to the World Championships. For now all these people are scattered between different climbing walls, but there are plans for reactivation.

 

Bio

I was born in Warsaw in 1978. I guess I get bored when sitting for too long in one place. During my free time I like to go out and just walk, looking for new sites. Always carrying a camera, but not necesarily always photographing. My first photography related job was assisting in big fashion sessions. Later I started to work as a freelancer doing various assignments, then my musician friends got me involved with music photography for a while. Meanwhile I was working in a newspaper as a graphic designer, in a small publishing house as an editor, and for a while in an advertising agency. Currently I’m working with moving pictures for Polish TV. I find pleasure in doing so called “personal projects,” or those that I believe to be worthwhile.

 

Related links

Pawel Glogowski

 

22 thoughts on “pawel glogowski – the wall”

  1. Gordon Lafleur

    Hi Pawel

    Congratulations on your series.

    There are some nice images here, but I’m afraid it failed to hold my attention by halfway through. So many similar images. I liked 1,6,16. I’m missing a personal connection, and a story. It seems incomplete.

  2. Ramon Mas

    I rubbed my hands when I saw the title and first picture: I’ve been climbing for the last 26 years, so I thought I would surely feel connected. Unfortunately, all I see are repetitive images over and over. Other than 1,12 and 17 I don’t really see anyhting interesting, sorry.

  4. john gladdy

    I think that given the constraints of the location, and its not exactly photogenic decor you have done a satisfactory job of documenting an aspect of it. But saying that, I do not really find the essay engrossing at all. I also find many of the frames to be ‘out of balance’ and awkward feeling. Also the wide angle, which im sure was neccesary here, has not really worked any magic in altering the perspective pleasingly. Im intertested more in the occupants. Look at that strange musculatur, those determined eyes.
    Who are they? What drives them? Why are they there? These are questions I would have liked to see posed.

    john.

    Also agree that the edit contains redundancies.

  8. paultreacy.com

    Three pictures would have done it. Repetitive. However, I think you could have made an interesting multimedia or short film of this feature. Would love to hear some of these people speak about their passion for climbing and how this interior wall climbing room came about. Some audio of the physical effort involved in the form of groans, rapid breathing and the chalking of hands, for example, would also enhance the piece. I hope you’ll keep working on it and flesh it out some.

    Good luck.

  11. Diego Fabro

    I’ve seen some climbing walls in apartments like that, never thought about photograph them tough, fortunately u did, interesting subject to make an essay with almost 20 pics. That’s a very small room and I’m sure you’ve tried all angles possible, but at some point looking at the images it seems I’m looking at the same photograph with a different angle. It is a bit repetitive for me, but at the same time I can get the feeling of the climbers and their universe, all concentrated in a small room. Congrats.

  13. Frostfrog

    I find myself in total agreement with Jim Powers. Even so, Pawel, there are excellent shots throughout, a few that really grab me.

    As I move through, I get a growing sense of claustrophobia – which is an interesting thing, as rock climbing in the mountains gives one the opposite feeling.

    I just wish there were a cat in one of the pictures. It would have been great to have had a cat come strolling through, or perhaps leaping onto the shoulder of an unsuspecting climber.

  14. Thomas Bregulla

    I love the pictures each by each. However, I also have to agree with the others. There is much repetition.
    My suggestion – strip the pictures down to four pictures or so, and add some pictures about the people, who built and maintain the wall. Who are they, what drives them. Is there a community, who are these people etc.
    You are on the start of an interesting essay, keep it up!

  16. pAtrIcIO m.

    Pawel, agree with the rest of the community.
    Three great pictures, the rest is a little repetitive, but, but, you can go on starting from these single images and continue the feature and follow your friend elsewhere.
    What about some portraits, still life images, some close shots, with details.
    Look at muscles and veins after a short climb… look at their efforts during the climb…
    Ahh, ONE photo is missing. You need at least one picture when someone is falling. Fall happens every single minute. This is important!
    Pawel, you’re there, you’ve got the subject, you have to shoot a little more.

    pAtrIcIo m.

  21. marikinski

    I’m not commenting here often,but this essay made even me make a comment.This is so boring,I sometimes don’t get why such essays are selected,when some good stories are still waiting to be seen.

  22. Pawel Glogowski

    Hello,
    Thanks Burn team, thanks for watching “the wall”, and for Your comments. I couldn’t write sooner, because i had no idea that it’s already been published.

    First of all i need to say that everyday training actually is repetitive, it’s not an epic story. Sometimes circuits are done over and over again for days. The essay could be shortened, however I’m really not convinced if three or four photos would be enough to get the viewer into that room, which is the goal.

    About boring. I think that not only exciting subjects are worth showing and not only exciting photos are good, if You know what i mean.

    Saying that, thanks a lot for all Your comments about length of the edit – I’ll be thinking it over.

    Cheers.

Comments are closed.