My i oni – pandemiczne ilustracje z pamiętników czasu koronawirusa

The authors of the text paint a picture of Poles’ social relationships based on the visual content from diaries documenting everyday life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearly 700 diaries collected in two nationwide competitions in 2020 and 2021 are analysed. The photographs included in the diaries revolve around topics such as emptiness, community building, and individual strategies of survival. The authors confront their conclusions from the analyses of the written and visual content. In terms of relationships, the former tends to focus on: (1) the crisis of meaning and the lack of alternatives to the solidified conditions of life; (2) loneliness in coping with the situation and adaptation to the living conditions, a deficit of trust, and a sense of inequality; (3) the perceived lack of support from the state, with civic duties prevailing over civic rights. According to the authors, the visual material complements the textual diary entries. As a form of self-reflection, the photographs document the diarists’ diagnosis of reality and their reactions to it. The visual content demonstrates that: (1) the feeling of meaninglessness becomes suspended in confrontation with the pandemic crisis; (2) activities intended to maintain the community paradoxically reveal its shortcomings and cracks in relationships; (3) the state manifests its presence mainly through oppression. According to the authors, pandemic photographs capture memories, support communication, build identity, manifest agency, and serve as a tool to critique the reality.