SPOOЯT
Photographer Pawel Fabjanski has created SPOOЯT, a photographic series based on a simple but unifying concept; where war ends, sport begins.
Fabjanski says that sport is a substitute for war during peacetime. There are elements of military training embedded in sporting competitions and concepts connected with sport, such as ‘teams’, ‘winning’, ‘fighting’, are quite similar. SPOOЯT is also about the ancient tradition of stopping war and conflicts when the Olympic Games are being run.
Anna Sikorska worked with Fabjanski on SPOOЯT, and apart from styling, came up with the main concept. She had this to say about the photos:
“According to ancient tradition, during Olympic Games all wars should be stopped. The players abandon their unreliable weapons and start relying on the strength of their personality and trained muscles to compete with each other. The competition moves to the field of sport where the rules are clear. Unfair tactics exclude one from the game. Gods of concentration and perfection watch over the mortal warriors, taking care to keep the right course of the competition – the direction where we cross human fragility, and borders of our weaknesses. The players, after overcoming obstacles, await the reward – merit badges and honors for their spilled sweat. When finally they cross the finish line it appears that the medals vanished. What remains is the human being waiting in front of the wall to be executed – the only chance to overcome the fear is to stay true to yourself.”
Fabjanski’a SPOORT series has most recently been recognised at the Unit-F GoSee Editorial Awards in Vienna, Austria.