29th January – 3rd February 2024 at Coningsby Gallery, 30 Tottenham Street
London W1T 4RJ

Opening hours: 10am – 6pm

When Columbus, in his roughly 20-metre-long small ships, was searching for America, 40-metre-long barges rode the current of the Vistula river in Poland with the agility of surfboards and at speeds often exceeding those of engine-powered wooden boats of today.

The golden age would probably not have dawned on Poland if it had not been for the Vistula, the only thoroughfare of the time, by which timber, grain, and other goods were floated on the river. The boats went to Gdansk and then around the world. The Vistula and its tributaries are the lifeblood of Poland.

Since prehistory, it was along river banks that the first inhabitants settled, the first settlements were established, and the most important cities were built and developed. The photographs in this exhibition are the result of two years of work by Wiktor and two years living in Urzecze. At least 20 photographs will be on display. 45×25 cm on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315 gsm paper.

Wiktor Strumiłło is a cameraman, photographer and drone operator. He took the drone shots for Ewa Ewart’s film “Do ostatniej kropli” [To the Last Drop] in 2023. This film won the “Golden Nymph” award – the Prince Rainier Award for the best documentary film at the 62nd Television Festival in Monte Carlo and 1st prize in the category “Oceans and their protection” at the Deauville Green Awards Festival in France

He was cinematographer for “Zaginione Urzecze” [The lost Urzecze] (2020 ), “Pieśń Buntu” [Song of Rebellion] by the R.U.T.A. Band. (2012), “Odkrywanie kart historii warszawskiej Pragi” [Discovering the Cards of the History of Warsaw’s Praga District] (2014). Photographer by calling. Inland and sea sailor. River lover. Co-constructor of the 16th-century river barge replica “Oskar Kolberg.”

The exhibition was originally presented at the Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, Poland.

A book entitled Urzecze i Wisła (Urczece and the Vistula) will be available for sale in stores.

Opening hours: 10am – 6pm

Exhibition link: Coningsby Gallery – Exhibition – Urzecze and the Vistula (Wisla) River / Wiktor Strumillo –