michel szulc krzyzanowski
conceptual photography
PHOTO ALBUM “HENNY. HET ZIT BEST WEL TEGEN”
PF/Professionele Fotografie. 2021
Interview by Ton Hendriks
Henny. Het zit best wel tegen”, is the sixth and most recent book that Michel Szulc Krzyzanowski (62) has written about Henny. The entire series of books covers a period in Henny's life from 1976 to 2012. It is not only an honest and unpolished insight into the life of a working-class woman, who has had to deal with a lot, but also a document of the economic and social developments of the past 36 years.
How did the project come about from the first book?
The national umbrella organization of training centers for young people wanted to publish a book about working young people. They asked me to come up with a plan and I suggested following one working young person with my camera for a few months. I was allowed to select ten young people from a card index with names and photos. I invited those young people into the director's room of the center one by one and when Henny came in I immediately understood that it had to be her. She had an aura around her, a strong aura. There was no other way than I had to choose her.
What did you want to show with the book?
I wanted to show the person behind the working young people. Only if you create an identification point can you use the photos to connect with the audience. We made the book “Neem nou Henny” and after five years the organization wanted to do something again for their tenth anniversary and we decided to continue the project with a second book about Henny. I had continued to keep in touch with Henny. We had become friends.
You could also say that with Henny you are criticizing contemporary society. About what the distribution is between poverty and wealth, especially in the current crisis?
I present the facts as much as possible with a neutral point of view. But those facts speak for themselves. Life is much harder for Henny now than in the past. The world around her has become much harder. Society chooses to support these types of families much less. The economy has changed significantly: in the past, Henny could live better with what she earned than now. As a youngster she had three jobs: in the factory, as a cleaner, and she delivered newspapers. Now she still needs three jobs to survive.
A photographer somehow identifies with his subject. How is that for you?
It is not that there is a direct identification. Henny's life is completely different from mine. It's much more about mutual respect. She has practical wisdom that I can learn a lot from. Her life helped me understand my own life better. By referring to other people you can better determine your own position.
You can also say that as a photographer you continually recreate yourself with your work.
My Polish father, one of the liberators of the Netherlands in 1944, had war trauma: PTSD. He first fought against the Germans in Poland in 1939 and later landed in Normandy as a tank commander. He's been through terrible things and never really came to terms with it. For that reason, among other things, I did not grow up in a warm and loving family. This led to many problems for me as a young person. There was no home situation where safety and confirmation were offered. It is special that my often absent father gave me a camera as a six-year-old child, as if he knew that I would need it and that photography could give me what he himself was not capable of. At a certain point I decided that I could only get out of it if I adopted a positive attitude. When I started taking photographs, I started to build my own identity. Creativity was a necessity and tool to recreate my life. But creating my identity is only half the story. I also feel indebted to my father. He fought all over Europe to free other people and bring democracy. My photography is therefore only meaningful when it connects with the society around me.
I understand that you will soon be moving back into a newly purchased camper. What does life in nature bring you that you don't have here in Amsterdam? Have you had enough of the world of photography?
It's not that I'm turning away from the world of photography. Inner harmony is partly determined by external factors. To get close to myself I need nature. I am a spiritual person. I need space to let that grow and blossom. This works better in nature than in a city.
Are you going to do projects like the Sequences and Vista again with the camper?
I do have plans to start new projects, but from a completely new design. As far as I'm concerned, the usual methods of making a photo book and organizing a photo exhibition are outdated. That approach is outdated and is no longer economically feasible. Many subsidies have dried up, corporate sponsorship has become an illusion and crowdfunding has also reached its peak. I invent and apply new marketing methods and that in itself is very exciting and adventurous.
You have made a call for a follow-up to the Henny project. You were looking for photographers who will follow Henny's children. Did that work?
As a result of the call, there were many responses. After a careful selection, two photographers were selected from the call who will photograph Henny's youngest two children, An-Sofie Kesteleyn and Linsey Kuijpers. I will first talk to them in detail and then introduce them to Henny's family. At first they just have to focus on gaining trust. Because two young photographers are now going to photograph Henny's children, it is growing into a large project in which you not only see the family over generations, but also the changing economy, fashion and social situations.
Isn't your other project What The World Has Never Seen also almost ready? And why does it remain so mysterious? No one is allowed to see the photos and when you buy a book you have to unlock it with a key.
I expect the book to be ready in April. I'm still trying to find people in Amsterdam. The concept of “What the world has never seen” is about intimacy and privacy. Everything is made public via social media. There seem to be no more secrets. That's what the project is about. The book contains stories from people who have never told them before. The people who buy the book can decide who they show the contents to, but it will never be publicly accessible. The message of this project is that certain information about people is better left intimate. That certainly applies to the people I found. Their stories and the photos I took of them are so exclusive that you have to be an intimate to read and see them.