Unseen and Unspoken - up next in the gallery
- 8 hours ago
- 5 min read
Anna Bedyńska turns her camera toward what contemporary culture often hides from view: death and otherness. By bringing into the light both fading funeral traditions and the portraits of people with albinism, she breaks through silence and invisibility, reclaiming space for empathy, dignity, and dialogue.
Clothes for Death
We live in more and more dehumanized times, family relations are more and more loose, people relationships are more and more depersonalized. Our life is automatised in many aspects, death and burial are among them.
There is a tradition that is almost extinct in Poland, Eastern Europe. The tradition of preparing clothes for death. People who pass away these days at the age of 80 and over, are the last ones who cultivate this tradition. This is our heritage with deep roots in ancient times. If we do not document this now, the next generations will be deprived of it.
As one of my characters said: it is not proper to go in jeans to meet the Lord. This is why many old people prepare clothes for death before they die. Sometimes they sew, sometimes they buy brand new and they collect them with pietism. Others say that it must be comfortable and used, as the journey to Infinite is long. Some want it black, others full of colors. Everything has its meaning. Underwear, stockings, skirts, blouses with long sleeves for women, suits and white shirts for men. Some want to take several goods for “the last journey”, pictures of saints, prayer books, rosaries, etc. Wife gives her husband his favorite walking stick and accordion. By selecting clothing that holds sentimental value or has significance in one’s life, the person can create a lasting memory for their family and friends. It's a way to preserve memories. It is said that we cannot ignore the will of the dead, who had declared beforehand what he/she wanted to wear and how he/she wanted to be buried. Otherwise, it is believed that the dead person cannot find comfort and the right way to Infinity. Moreover, the person, who did not fulfill the will of the dead person, can be hunted by the soul of the dead.
Discussing and planning these preparations serve a profound purpose – they humanize the concept of death. In a world where discussions about mortality are often hushed and death itself is a taboo subject, these conversations open the door to understanding and emotional support among family members. It allows individuals and their loved ones to express their desires and concerns openly, fostering a deeper connection in the face of loss. This particular tradition is still cultivated in little towns and villages, mostly among the old, passing away generation. People in towns employ the funeral companies that take care of the dead bodies, clothes and other duties. Death is still a taboo. The contemporary society is much more into everlasting beauty and youth and are afraid to think and even talk about the death that is naturally embedded into lifespan.
In this series, I hope to not only preserve a fading tradition but also to immortalize the essence of what it means to be human. Clothes for Death is more than a visual narrative; I invite the viewers to reflect on the intricate dance between life and death, reminding us of the beauty in embracing our mortality with grace and profound humanity.
White Power
There are many shades of beauty. In the glossy pages of magazines, social media and advertising, beauty is often the result of hours of make-up, styling, and digital retouching. Teams of specialists refine every detail to create the polished images we see in public spaces. What remains hidden from us is the unaltered, original face of the person being photographed.
The portraits in the White Power series invite us to rediscover beauty shaped by nature itself. Albinism, caused by a recessive gene inherited from both parents, affects approximately one in every 20,000 people worldwide, while one in 70 carries the gene. An albino child can be born into any family, even if there is no history of albinism before. Because their bodies lack pigment, people with albinism have hair, skin, and eyes deprived of color. This absence of melanin makes them extremely sensitive to sunlight, with skin prone to inflammation and eyes vulnerable to conditions such as photophobia, nystagmus, and astigmatism. As a result, many withdraw from the light, both literally and symbolically. Too often, they face stigma, exclusion, and social ostracism.
What is a real, genuine beauty?! Beauty that not everyone is able to see? Albinos live in the shade and shadow. “I wanted to pull them out of their shelters and put them on the stage and prove to them and others that the true beauty, is not manufactured by stylists or digital tools, but rooted in authenticity, in the resilience of the human soul, and in the truth of lived experience” – claims Bedyńska.
In some African beliefs, albino are considered to be the incarnation of spirits of the dead, there is a superstition that albino body parts have magical powers that can bring happiness to the holder of amulets or potions made with albino body parts. This was the reason for the persecution of the community, including the murders on the trail: Tanzania-Zambia-Congo-Camerun-Nigeria.
About the artist
In her projects, Bedyńska delves into the world of the vulnerable and marginalized, the sick and disabled. The human experience is always at the core of her work. Her focus is reportage, often exploring taboo subjects. She has documented births and deaths. Among her notable series are Birth with Humanity and Clothes for Death, both of which challenge the taboos surrounding birth and death and have been
featured in social campaigns. In 2024 she created the awareness campaign „Spot the Dot”, on skin cancer prevention, using her street photography from Japan inspired by Yayoi Kusama.
She likes to detabularise topics that often are swept under the rug, the ones that seem to be uncomfortable or hidden from the public eye and puts women in the center of her attention.
She has won numerous prestigious awards, including the World Press Photo 2013, the Grand Prix in Grand Press Photo (2005 and 2017), the National Geographic award, and the „It’s Worth Being Together” special prize in the BZ WBK Foto contest, Annual Award from the Minister of Culture of Poland and a laureate of honorable mention of Publication of the Year 2024.
Her debut film, In Another World, premiered in Leipzig at the prestigious documentary film festival and received the main prize for Best Student Film at the Kinoproba Festival in Yekaterinburg. In 2024, she released two photobooks – Forever Mine and Spot the Dot – which not only earned her industry recognition but also sparked significant social and educational impact.
Mother, photojournalist, lecturer, triathlonist, mountain climber and laughter lover. A member of the Canon Ambassador Program (2013-2018), Women Photographers and Polish Women Photographers. She has lived and worked in Warsaw, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, currently in Bucharest.