Tropicale

Artbook, 2019
Coauthor: Łukasz Gniadek

Tropicale references the classic style of botanical albums while playing with this convention. The publication uses Japanese binding to hide a second, parallel story in its inner pages.
The title comes from an original collection of floral prints which was compiled at the turn of the XXthcentury by one of Poland’s most famous clerics, Władysław Michał Zaleski, known as the “Father of the Indian clergy”.
The album invites us to reflect upon the complicated relations between Europe and the Orient, the interaction of cultures and civilisations. The botanical illustrations are in subtle dialogue with the inner layer of the book, which hides a selection of photographs, collages and illustrations carefully prepared by Zaleski himself. These show us India through the eyes of a European priest. The viewer is placed in the uncomfortable position where some of the images and their meanings remain inaccessible.