Michal Solarski is a London based photographer. After graduating in Poland with a Masters in Politics, Solarski moved to London and studied at The London College of Communication where he earned an additional masters in Documentary Photography. He divides his professional career between advertising and his personal projects, traveling extensively between the UK and Eastern Europe where he produces the majority of his work. Most of his photography is strongly based on his own background and experiences, with a strong concentration on migration and memories. For his most recent work he received LensCulture Visual Storytelling Awards prize as well as PDN Photo Annual 2015 prize, among others. Solarski’s work has been widely exhibited and published in many different publications including The Guardian, Time, GEO, The Independent etc. Today we share his series, A Place Where My Grandma Died.
A Place Where My Grandma Died
Ever since I visited my dying grandmother at the care home, I wanted to go back. She spent the last days of her life in there. After more then a year since she had a stroke, my parents were too tired to cope with the constant care she required. I remember that I felt great sadness looking at her as she lay in this massive gloomy room among other patients.
It took me several years to came back. I found that life in there is really slow and filled up with routines. Day after day passes in the same way. There is a time to sleep, a time to eat, a time to clean, and very little in between. I spent two weeks there just walking around, talking to the residents, playing games, and watching television with them. For two weeks I shared their life. Those were two very emotional weeks of my life. For me, my time spent there was a tribute to my beloved grandmother.
To view more of Michal’s work, please visit his website.