From home to home: After 18 years man leaves Wales to walk 1,931km back to Poland
For the past 18 years Polish photographer Michał Iwanowski has called Cardiff in Wales home.
Originally hailing from the village of Mokrzeszów in south-western Poland, Iwanowski had recently been considering returning to his home village, partly due to the uncertain post-Brexit world, and partly due to an idea which he had been mulling over for quite some time.
In 2008 he noticed some graffiti sprayed on a wall in Cardiff which read “GO HOME, POLISH.”
Although not offended by the text, the three words stuck with him over the years and as he considered the crudely scrawled statement an idea came to his head.
He thought about the concept of what ‘home’ really means, and broader issues such as whether ‘home’ can become an abstract, or whether ‘home’ is, quite simply, where one lives, irrespective of a time-scale, or being one’s place of birth.
As Brexit Britain chaotically pursues leaving Europe, he also thought about ‘home’ in terms of whether it is one’s house, village, country or, on a grander scale, Europe itself.
The journey would take in walking through Wales, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic. Planning the route in as straight a line as possible, the trip would cover a distance of 1930kms and would take him 105 days to complete.
He came up with the idea of walking from Wales back to Poland, with the final destination being his home village of Mokrzeszów.
The journey would take in walking through Wales, England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic. Planning the route in as straight a line as possible, the trip would cover a distance of 1930kms and would take him 105 days to complete.
On 27 April 2018, armed with his Polish and British passports, his camera and wearing a ‘Polska’ T-shirt, Iwanowski set off from Cardiff on his arduous trek across Europe. Documenting the whole journey in the form of a visual and written diary on Instagram, he posted photos, thoughts, exchanges with people he met along the way and described the changing landscapes and conditions encountered along the way.
One of the most important aspects of the journey was meeting people, telling them what he was doing and asking them about their concept of home and their thoughts on Brexit Britain.
He says that, while walking through England and Wales, most people he spoke with felt betrayed by the government and media over the Brexit referendum and the way it was presented.
In France and Germany the idea that a country would want to leave the EU was met with disbelief that people could have voted for such a move.
Iwanowski’s trek across Europe proved both cathartic and life-affirming.
Apart from the physical and mental exhaustion of the walk itself, he also says that the people he met gave him a renewed believe in the goodness and generosity that can be found in people.
Documenting the whole journey in the form of a visual and written diary on Instagram, he posted photos, thoughts, exchanges with people he met along the way and described the changing landscapes and conditions encountered along the way.
Chance encounters and the kindness of strangers made him realise that the cynicism and political arguments of division, are generally not views held by ordinary people.
Upon finally reaching Mokrzeszów, he was greeted by a welcoming party of locals, who he says had made a banner for the occasion and awaited him with the solemnity of a funeral procession, apart from one lady who dressed in a garishly coloured outfit and fancy wig to welcome him home.
Apart from the joy of actually completing his goal, he says that the absurdity of the spectacle that greeted his arrival made him laugh with delight!
When asked whether the journey changed his views on the idea of ‘home’, Iwanowski replied: “It confirmed something. I feel utterly at home walking in the landscape, wherever that landscape is.
“I don’t need to be told by a government, ‘This is your home.’
“The ground beneath my feet sanctifies my belonging in this world – not the passport given to me by a country.”
Two exhibitions documenting Iwanowski’s walk home opened simultaneously in Galeri Caernarfon, Wales and in the Instytut Fotografii Fort, Warsaw on 21 September.
