Elementarz

The Polish word 'elementarz', just like the English 'elementary', refers to the idea of 'starting from the basics'. In this book, we see the life in Poland and particularly the life of Polish countryside in its most elementary aspects: school, family life, the changing of the seasons... When you see these pictures, you meet the people, smell the rooms, live their life in its daily, basic reality.

The present-day world shown by Debby Huysmans is not that idyllic, but far more realistic. The photographs show us that the little girl's doll can be broken. That it's difficult to dry the laundry in the harsh climate of eastern Poland where Huysmans spent several weeks of her life to come back with these illuminating images. (bron: backcover boek)