Katarzyna Janikowska Leett

I spent thirty years in pre-press, running a publishing house and a civil engineering magazine—a fusion of engineering and humanism. My work used to be my hobby and my life, but somewhere along the way, I ran out of breath. Ten years ago, I moved from Poland to Wales to live a simpler life. I became a cleaner, and in the process, I cleaned up my mind. I finally had time to photograph in my own distinct way. However, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans… A subsequent diagnosis of arthritis reshaped my world, narrowing my physical movement but sharpening my artistic focus. My home became my studio and a new arena of discovery. I now mainly capture stories on the short trajectory between my kitchen and my living room. Generally I recycling the unnoticed, decayed and forgotten into almost brutally simple frames. Pairing calm photography with text rooted in gallows humour and dry self-deprecation, I subvert expectations and invite viewers to redefine the mundane.