This photographic series became an opportunity for me to delve into the elusive notion of adulthood — not as a fixed state, but as a continuous process of negotiation between expectation and experience. Through a sequence of self-reflective images, I turn the lens inward, observing the quiet tension between who I am and who I am supposed to be.

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Society offers countless instructions on how to become a “responsible adult”, yet the emotional and psychological journey rarely follows a straight path.

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Society offers countless instructions on how to become a “responsible adult”, yet the emotional and psychological journey rarely follows a straight path. My work visualises this space of dissonance — the feeling of drifting between stages, of performing maturity while still searching for its meaning.

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Each photograph captures a moment of uncertainty, irony, or tenderness — fragments of an inner dialogue about growth, identity, and the invisible rules that shape our sense of self. The images oscillate between constructed and documentary, between the personal and the universal, embracing imperfection as a form of honesty.

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For me, photography becomes a tool for reflection — a way of mapping emotional landscapes that resist definition. Through this project, I seek to invite viewers to question the myth of the “fully formed adult” and to recognise the beauty in the process of becoming, rather than simply being.

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About

Marta Wojnarowska-Olszewska is a photographer focusing on long-term projects. She develops her artistic language through dialogue with universal themes, approached through the lens of personal experience. She is a laureate of the ShowOFF Section at Krakow Photomonth (2024) and the 22nd Rybnik Foto Festival (2025). Her work has also been recognised in competitions such as the IPA Deeper Perspective (2023) and the 26th Julia Margaret Cameron Award (2025). Her photographs have been exhibited at, among others, the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń (2024), the Chłodna 20 Photography Centre in Warsaw (2024), and the Eastern Photography Festival in Lublin (2025).

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