Industries

Throughout three years (1962-1964), the African edition of “Polska” delivered copious reports from industrial complexes accompanied by Sumiński’s photographs, such as Zamech in Elbląg, the Wristwatch Factory in Błonie, Polfa Pharmaceutical Works in Warsaw, or the Nitrogen Plant in Mościce. Magazine’s editors eagerly presented general images of people at work with machines, or factory halls, rather than details or repetitive sequences of products. Sumiński’s own prints testify to formal explorations, with photographs characterized by painstakingly arranged composition, reality seen at a close distance, and a focus on captivating details such as parts of mechanical equipment or industry products. Photographs of cigarettes that resemble a honeycomb in the Czyżyny factory, steel elements in the Pafawag plant, or close-ups of parts of watches in the industrial unit in Błonie, all border on abstraction.