PAULINA MIROWSKA
Andronikus i Pothea
This book is a memoir from a journey to a small Greek island – Telendos – located in the Aegean Sea. The photographs tell the legend of the star crossed lovers – Andronikus, prince of Castelia, and princess Pothea who lived on Telendos:
The king of Telendos, in conflict with the lords of Castelia, challenges the prince to a trial. He offers his daughter’s hand in marriage, if the prince can swim the distance from Castelia to Telendos carrying a lit candle. The lovestruck prince takes up the challenge, but the candle blows out at the first gust of wind, just a mile off of the Castelian shore. Accepting his defeat, the prince chooses death at sea to life without his beloved. He drowns in despair, and turns into a rock, which to this day rests on the bottom of the sea, among the seaweed, just a mile from Castelia. The princess, seeing the candle go out runs towards the sea, and also drowns in her sorrow. The island then took shape of a reclining Pothea, looking out to the Aegean Sea, hoping to spot her lover.
The book and cover is screen printed. It has been hand bound at home, with the aid of some friends. The shape of the island embossed on the cover is reflective of a linocut, and reminds us of the strength of love. The photographs inside speak of my continually growing love of nature.
Paulina Mirowska was born in 1987 in Warsaw. She is a graduate of the Artistic University in Poznań, Faculty of Multimedia Communication, Department of Photography, and a lecturer of Analogue Photography Techniques at Warsaw’s Academy of Photography, among others. She channels her passion into social work creating multiple artistic outreach programs, including workshops for impoverished children and people with developmental disabilities. Since 2011 she has been working at the Photography Lab of the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She is a member of the creative groups Suffit and “JEST”, and co-founder of the photography group Kontener. She is currently working on establishing a publishing house focused on photography.
