Anthony Dyrek: Poland Under Martial Law

About the Exhibition

The suite of photographs Poland Under Martial Law, presented in the North Gallery, was made by Anthony Dyrek, an emerging American photographer, on a trip he made to Poland in 1982.  Dyrek has visited this country, where many of his family still live, on seven or eight occasions over the last decade.  Interested in the dichotomy between the portrayal of Poland in the American media and the reality of Polish life, Anthony Dyrek combined his photographs with text to introduce a sense of irony and ambivalence that reflects the contrast between the expectations built on media representation and actuality.  Avoiding the expected images of repression, the photographer concentrated on images of daily life under martial law, interjecting them with captions, selectively edited bits of conversations that he either overheard or participated in.  His touch on the political and social issues of the time is subtle and deft.