The Polish Garden pays an homage to author’s motherland’s beauty. Whenever summer starts in Poland the air becomes sweet, ground becomes light and all you can hear is the buzz of nature. It is a bittersweet feeling that Paciorek experiences, since now she lives in The Netherlands. Yet, some places in Rotterdam instantly remind her of the moments back in her country, such as picking raspberries off the bushes, running through the field barefoot, or smelling flowers in gardens. By using analogue photography as a medium to give off nostalgic feeling, The Polish Garden tells a story of how you can re-live your memories in a different place, while being torn between two countries. It’s about finding yourself once again, but miles away.

This project has been presented in Welcome Home Honey collective exhibition organised by Essentia Collaboration in The Grey Space in the Middle in The Hague in 2025.

Photography & installation by Paulina Paciorek

Organised by Essentia Collaboration

Hosted in The Grey Space in the Middle

Team credits:

Styling by Lisanne van Stijn

Make up by Idil Kandemir

Modeling by Naomi Hoogervorst

Developed & scanned by Cameralisatie

Photography & creative direction by Paulina Paciorek