These cemeteries, are for me, similar reminders of people not known to me; their life, work, achievements and private lives. My aim is to preserve these memories by cataloguing their disappearance and their disintegration. Jewish cemeteries are unusual places for me. When I started to photograph them I was reading the novel written by Marcel Proust, "In Search of Lost Time". As I understood his writing, the novel is dedicated to memory and to the passing of time. To how much remains in our collective memories after the people who passed away, and the time in which they lived, has gone. Proust also focuses on the things which provoke these memories. These cemeteries, are for me, similar reminders of people not known to me; their life, work, achievements and private lives. My aim is to preserve these memories by cataloguing their disappearance and their disintegration. I took my pictures in Jewish cemeteries lying on the border of two polish regions: Silesia and Malopolska since 2007. Jews began to settle in these areas in the eleventh century. They created their own settlements, built synagogues and founded cemeteries. They were born, lived and died. The Jews contributed to the culture and the richness of Europe until the 20th Century and 'The Final Solution', the Holocaust, when the Germans expelled and killed most of the Jews in Europe. The extermination was devastating, destroying synagogues and cemeteries. In my work I have also included these, photographing places where they once were, and where currently there is only, for example, a square, a lawn, or even parking. In the project, I am also searching for my own 'lost time'. The missed opportunities, the uncaptured images. It is an attempt to recall, from my own life experience, the 'might have been.' In the project, I am also searching for my own 'lost time'. The missed opportunities, the uncaptured images. It is an attempt to recall, from my own life experience, the 'might have been.'
About the Author: Jacek Lidwin I live in Poland. I have photographed since I was eight years old, but photography has been in the center of my professional life since 2005. I tried my hand at many areas of photography. Since 2007 I have been photographing Jewish cemeteries. I also like street photography. In 2012 I was a stipendist of the Ministry of Culture in Poland. My photos have been featured in many publications and I have produced artwork and promotional images for artists, theatres and newspapers. I have also been exhibited in various exhibitions in Poland. Etgar Keret Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child to parents who survived the Holocaust. Both of his parents are from Poland. He studied at Ohel Shem high school, and at the Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Programme for Outstanding Students of Tel Aviv University. He lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Shira Geffen, and their son, Lev. He is a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer Sheva, and at Tel Aviv University. He holds dual Israeli and Polish citizenship. Oscar Riera Ojeda RIERA OJEDA, OSCAR is an editor and designer based in the US, China, and Argentina. Born in 1966, in Buenos Aires, he moved to the United States in 1990. Since then he has published over two hundred books, assembling a remarkable body of work notable for its thoroughness of content, timeless character, and sophisticated and innovative craftsmanship. Oscar Riera Ojeda's books have been published by many prestigious publishing houses across the world, including Birkhäuser, Byggförlaget, The Monacelli Press, Gustavo Gili, Thames & Hudson, Rizzoli, Damiani, Page One, ORO editions, Whitney Library of Design, and Taschen. Oscar Riera Ojeda is also the creator of numerous architectural book series, including Ten Houses, Contemporary World Architects, The New American House and The New American Apartment, Architecture in Detail, and Single Building. His work has received many international awards, in-depth reviews, and citations. He is a regular contributor and consultant for several publications in the field.