Polish photographer Rafal Milach set out to develop a project that would combine the individuals who lived through the communist era post WW2 (in which Poland was a part of Soviet rule), and the children’s strikes of 1902, in which Catholic school students objected to the Germinization of their education. Milach incorporated objects found in education (specifically maths equipment) with archival images of when Poland was invaded by the Germans, and in doing so emphasized the stark contrast between the childish innocence of simply wanting an education, with the reality that the education system and children were severely affected by the German invasion.

“The initial idea of working with the archive was sustained, but the topic changed as I began looking for material that could occupy two spheres – discipline and pacification, and the sphere of freedom – and to bring these elements together in a series of collages.”

In the above quote, Milach discusses how he was able to bring the 2 contrasting themes of peace (children) and war (occupation).

Milach published his photo-book, The First March of Gentleman, and used bold eye-catching colours (associated with children and children’s artwork) in order to show the contrast between the reality of the archival images, and the concept of the book itself. Milach added a string to the book that had to be physically unwound in order to open it; this added a sense of interactivity to the book, and the string (when wound) can be used to represent bars, caging in the subjects:

Milach makes use of space in his images, as the bold colours in the background still act as part of the image, drawing attention of the viewer, and the use of space draws maximum attention to the archival images laced between the objects.

I will be taking inspiration from Milach, and will be designing my own photo-montages that will reflect the feelings of confinement and hopelessness that covered Jersey during the occupation, and in general, Europe during WWII.