All about arkadiusz pikor

All about Arkadiusz Pikor

©All Rights Reserved

2012

This short slide-show is intended to give a visual and autobiographical representation of my childhood in Poland. The photographs that you are about to see were not produced by me. However, I do have rights to use them. I wish to dedicate this presentation to those who I have lost or forgot. I hope you will enjoy watching it. This is my five-minute history.

Those are the parents of my mother, Zofia Job (Koscielecka) and Stanislaw Koscielecki. I have never knew my grandfather

as he died by heart attack before I was born.

My grandma with her parents on the left. And this is how she looks today, on the right.

Here’s my grandpa when he was young (right), and with his wife and oldest daughter Teresa (left). It always felt a bit weird, knowing that I wouldn’t exist without him but never met him. I always treated my grandma, his wife, as my second mother so it felt like I don’t have a ‘second father’.

The idea is that I’ve missed him but I never really knew what kind of person he was.

This is my mum’s sister and my auntie, Maria Koscielecka (Pikor). My parents met because of her as she got married with

my dad’s brother. The person on the right is the youngest child of Zofia and Stanislaw, Jaroslaw. It’s the only boy they had as well. The only living one anyway, because their first

child Janusz, died as an infant in his mother’s arms.

The woman on the left is my other auntie and sister of my mum. The man next to her is her husband and my godfather. Krystyna and Darek Karczmarz.

This is Elzbieta and her daughter Klaudia Mazurkiewicz. My mum has four sisters and a brother, Elizabeth is one of them. She raised two children

without her husband as he left her without money. Klaudia is my cousin, we were raised together and we use to treat ourselves as siblings.

This is the father of my dad, Stefan Pikor. He died just after a month when I moved to Britain. It’s a shame that I don’t have any pictures of my grandma...

My mother, Beata.

My father, Marek.

“Some, fear none.”: Nirvana - Sifting

Preparation before the wedding. It’s the time when parents give their blessing, allowing their children to get married. On my dad’s right, there’s

his mum and my grandma, Stefania Giec (Pikor)

I suppose they both said “I do.”

Outside the church with family.

This picture represents an old Polish tradition, where people throw coins on the ground and the fresh couple and children have to pick them up.

It’s an act of wishing money in their new life as marriage.

Signing the documents in the department by my mother.

Now, it’s time for my dad.

Watch one year old me, I’m fabulous.

My parents, me and my four years old cousin, Klaudia.

The Holy Communion of one of my cousins. I’m the blond little kiddie in the middle, I was about three.

Me on the left with my auntie Maria and her son Lukasz. We were both three years old. I was afraid of strangers if they come to my house. When I saw one around, I started to get upset and cry. You

can clearly see that my face expression on the photo above is scared. That’s because I didn’t knew the guy who took those pictures.

My mum took me on her knees and told to start waving to the camera. Those photos were taken in my grandparents house (parents of my dad)

as I use to go there for holidays a few times in the year. My cousin Lukasz lived there with his parents.

The first picture here shows me and my grandfather. When I said goodbye to him before I left Poland to live in Britain, I though that we’ll see each other in a few months. Unfortunately he died after a month I left. I had a good relations with him as well, that’s why every picture I have with

him, is very important to me. I must say that as a kid, I liked posing for the camera.

Four years old me with my dad.

My mum making me wear the shoes that I use to hate.

My cousins and I. They’re all children of my godfather Darek and auntie Krystyna. I remember that day, they gave me a cat but I was allergic to it.

Me and Lukasz again, just a bit older. The girl on the picture is my neighbour, the photos were taken in her house. I was in love with the bird that I hold. I didn’t understood that it’s fake, I thought that it’s real and I

wanted to pluck his feathers out as my grandma did it with ducks.

Older, older, older...

Klaudia and Beata.

Some of my other cousins and an auntie, sister of my dad. She raised her daughter on her own as her father refused to be there. My father has a huge family with thirteen siblings. Unfortunately

four of them passed away.

Lukasz, Klaudia and me. This is one of my favourite photographs.

At the time this picture was taken, there was a song played on the radio, with lyrics saying ‘Put you hands up!’ So my auntie came to the room with the camera

and told us to put our hands up, so we did.

My first carnival in school. I was six years old.

With best friends, playing with blocks in their house. Pawel and Ania.

Seven years old, find me.

The Holy Communion.

We didn’t really knew what kind of pictures should we take, so we just lied on the grass and had fun. At least it was unusual, I bet that nobody was wallowing on the ground on their Holy

Communion day. I love how my little cousin’s leg is shown. He had the best time of all of us, because he ate the grass instead and found it funny.

Spot the difference.

I think that my childhood wasn’t all about fun. I admit that this environment has hurt me a lot. But this is where I grew up, it’s where I made my first steps and spoke first words. That’s why I respect

it and will never forget. Whatever happens, I know that when the sun gets down and I lie on my bed, I will always have my memories.

And now, my favourite photograph of all time...

The End