Interview with Visual Artist Adrian Wojtas.
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Adrian Wojtas and I’m a multidisciplinary creative working with photography, design, and film. I just turned 22. I'm originally from Nawojowa, Poland. I moved to Ireland in 2006 and I’m currently based between Navan in Co. Meath, and Dublin. For the past four years I studied Photography at IADT and I’ve recently graduated with First Class Honours.
In your opinion, do you need education to become a photographer?
For me,studying Photography at IADT has really opened my eyes in terms of critical thinking, really digging deep and engaging with material, which in turn has an impact on the work I produce. Besides the technical stuff -which you can teach yourself in your own time - I think one of the main benefits of art college is being in the creative space where you meet like-minded individuals. You gain and shape an understanding of the world based on the content that you and your peers engage with.The discussion, critique,and awareness of what’s out there is important to your development as a creative. I’m all for it.
I think college really helped me with critical thinking. It gave me the experience and a methodology for how to look at things and how to really engage with them. I know people who didn’t go to college or study photography academically that have gone to be successful, but I still think a degree is a great thing to have. A degree shows that you’ve put in the effort, suffered through the four years, and you achieved something. There are years of experience and work behind that piece of paper.
What have you learned in college that you apply to your work today?
Attention to detail. That and understanding the importance of preparation, presentation, and professional practice.
Influences?
I like to branch out and draw on inspiration from a wide variety of mediums and genres. Some of the main resources would be film and cinematography, painting, illustration, other genres of photography, and even written work from novels to non-fiction. Whatever works!
How would you describe yourself as a photographer?
Photography isn't the only medium that I work with so I wouldn't call myself strictly a photographer. Aside from photography, I also work with in graphic design, film, and cinematography so I’m open to working on a multitude of different projects.
You’ve recently directed your second short film, More Than This. What is it about?
In a nutshell, it’s about somebody finding out a certain truth about their environment, and how they come to deal with their newfound knowledge.The film touches up on themes of isolation, bureaucracy, and memory. It was a fine exercise in world-building and one of the important aspects in the beginning of production was that we wanted it to have a surreal and otherworldly quality. Colour plays a key role throughout the film and the art direction of the set and graphic design have had a huge impact upon the believability of the world of the film. Being a predominantly silent film, it was important that the cinematography drove forward the feeling of uncertainty and tension. In addition, the film’s score added another layer to the discomfort by giving it a creeping and unsettling tone. The work of Roy Andersson, Wes Anderson, and David Lynch have been some of the primary influences on the film.
As it was a student film and a micro-budget self-funded production, the crew and our resources were quite limited. The restrictions in budget also meant that we had to get creative. Several locations in the film had to be faked and reused as new with set redressing and changes in camera position. Some of the crew had to take on additional roles while on set. It also involved a lot of learning for me personally since it required various bits of VFX to be added in post-production. A lot of the production came down to preparation yet again, from recon shoots right down to managing people’s schedules.
The film stars David Dooley, who’s also played the lead in my first and previous short film a short film about filing. It was directed, shot, produced, art directed, and edited by me, and written and co-produced by Kieran Murray who was also involved in the previous film. Orlaith Darcy and Danilo Zambrano have worked on the sound design, Amy Lawless did the make-up, and my brother Mateusz Wojtas designed and made our props.
The film has done quite well so far and has been Long listed for the RDS Visual Arts Award as well as Highly Commended in the Inspirational Arts Photography Award last year. It’s also screened at film festivals in Cork and Kerry in Ireland, as well as Toronto in Canada. It’s set to screen at this year’s River Film Festival in Padova, Italy this June.
Tell us a little about your upcoming cookery book project, Smakołyki.
It’s still very early days in the production process but it’s coming along nicely. Smakołyki: The Art of Traditional Polish Baking is my upcoming cookery book of traditional homemade Polish baking and desserts, with recipes written and developed by my mother, Anna Wojtas. The project started out as one of my two graduate projects during the final year of study at IADT (the other being the film, More Than This). The idea for the project arose from an interest in revisiting my roots and learning more of my heritage. Since moving away from my homeland, the traditional food my family makes has remained mostly unchanged. This has been one of the key elements responsible for preserving my cultural identity abroad.
During my final year in college I designed and photographed a small cookbook featuring ten recipes. The current plan is to expand on that and develop the book into a full sized tome of recipes. It was envisaged that this book would be targeted not only to Polish diaspora permanently living abroad, but also Irish citizens, and others interested in foreign cuisine and baking. Because this is a foreign cookery book and many of the recipes will be unfamiliar to domestic audiences, I believe it is important that each recipe has its own photograph which will act as a helpful visual guide, making the book a more accessible and tactile experience.
More to follow soon, but for the most part, it’s time to get back to work.
What are your thoughts on expensive photography equipment?
High-end equipment is nice but you can get away with a lot using simple cameras and gear if you know what you're doing. There's a certain beauty in being limited. You learn to overcome challenges and to be resourceful.
Describe your style in 3 words.
Colourful;Balanced;Expressive.
What motivates you?
Good coffee.
Is social media important?
It depends on how you look at it. As a visual creative, I rely heavily on Instagram but I suck at Twitter. It’s very useful because a lot of different types of people use it, and therefore there is potential for a lot of different engagement to come from it as a result. It can open a lot of doors. I think the key thing to focus on is making good material that is interesting to you while staying true to your virtues.
Do you care about following and engagement?
In a way, yes. It can be reassuring to know that people enjoy and value the craft and the material you pour hours of work into, and that it’s being appreciated. I recently started engaging a lot more with my followers and the community at large by responding to posts and stories of complete strangers and enjoying the visual medium together, which I find very interesting. I think it’s about finding a balance between that side of it as well as being able to disconnect from it and enjoy the alone time.
Plans?
Learn, grow, travel, read! There are a few projects that I have lined up for the coming few months, from fine art projects to other work such as the upcoming book. I’m also planning to redesign my personal branding, including my website. That, as well as working on a new short film with my long-time collaborator Kieran Murray.
click here to check out Adrian’s website.