During the drought the road is dry features the voices of Jan Gola (Poręby village), Magda Maksimiuk (film critic), Paulina Mirowska and Ola Czerniawska (activists from Earth Strike), Anna Andrzejewska (hydrologist, Kampinoski National Park), Wiktor Kotowski (wetland ecologist, University of Warsaw), Ewa Rudnicka (linguist, University of Warsaw).
“Susza wywarła wielkie spustoszenie” (the drought has exerted havoc)— this sentence is one of the best known in Polish cinematography. In the movie Rejs by Marek Piwowski, where it appears, it means almost nothing but creating a kind of surrealistic situation.
But “The drought has wreaked havoc” is real now. I explored the language we use and used to describe lack of water/dryness/heat. It’s a new situation many of us face for the first time in our lives. The language didn’t change at all, but some old words put in a new context begin to resonate.
BARTOSZ PANEK is a radio feature documentary maker and reporter with almost 20 years experience. He is the winner of Polish and international awards, including the Prix Italia for best radio documentary. His work has been highlighted in competitions in Italy, France and Croatia.
A stipend holder from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, his first book— on the Polish Tatars— was published in the summer of 2020.
CONSTELLATIONS is a sound art and experimental narrative collective that illuminates international artists making sound works that convey meaning through evocation and abstraction. They curate and produce a podcast, live events and publish sound materials.