"Sociological Record”: fieldwork
Agnieszka Pajączkowska and Zofia Augustyńska-Martyniak talk about their project

What can we find out about the "Sociological Record” and its author by visiting the places where she took her photographs? Can meeting the people she portrayed over 30 years ago influence our interpretation of the project as a whole? How and why should we follow Zofia Rydet's tracks?

In the words of the authors of the project: “What remains” is a series of local photographic actions focused around Zofia Rydet's “Sociological Record”. We developed a selection of photographs and took bundles of prints to several towns - Chochołowo, Płaza, Wygiełzowo, Babice, Brzeziny Kieleckie, Zalipie, Biały Dunajec and Markowa. We searched for people Rydet photographed, creating situations in which they recognized themselves or those close to them in photographs taken over 30 years ago. We gave them prints that, in their hands, became family souvenirs. We had dozens of meetings and conversations, we established names, retraced family histories, gathered memories sparked by objects, places and people in the photographs. We compared the current topography of places with their photographic record, tried to recreate the way Zofia Rydet worked in those locations, discovered inconsistencies or mistakes in the descriptions of the photographs and investigated relations between one photo frame and the next.

We used the “Record” as a culture animation tool. Working with local cultural institutions, we organized photography workshops for young people during which they took new photographs of the residents of their town. Presentations and exhibitions of the contemporary photographs served as another opportunity to meet and talk. Findings from the local actions with the “Record” will be presented by Agnieszka Pajączkowska and Zofia Augustyńska-Martyniak.