MONIKA BULAJS PHOTOGRAPHS OF DIVINE INFANCY (Moniki Bulaj fotografie Dzieciectwa Bozego)

Monika Bulaj - a Pole crossing frontiers, following the examples of Malinowski and Kapuscinski and travelling simultaneously with Stasiuk, refers to the undertakings of such authors as Patrick L. Fermor, Nicolas Bouvier and Bruce Chatwin... The point of departure for her quest is the disturbing emptiness produced by the overlooked Other, the Unknown, the world of the Jews in the small Mazovian town of Warka, where she spent her childhood. By searching for the ignored Other, the author discovered numerous Others. She finds places where, as in Lithuania, Belarus and Bukovina, different religions co-exist, show mutual respect, and share prayers and rituals; in doing so, she toured communities based on religious-cultural syntheses, such as the Karaims in Troki (Lithuania), the Frankists and the Donmehs in Istambul. Monika Bulaj focused her attention on the intensity of contacts with the Essence, which she found in the peripheries of the contemporary world.