Collection

The A–Z (Educational Cabinets) series is an artistic project in progress since November 2006. To date, Andrzej Tobis has collected and labelled several hundred photographs. The ever-expanding photograph series is an attempt at describing the world, naming phenomena and defining reality. Tobis found a formula and form for his endeavour in the first three editions of Bildwörterbuch Deutsch und Polnisch, an illustrated Polish-German dictionary from the mid-20^th century. All entries are accompanied by photographs of Polish reality taken by the artist, none staged or photoshopped. The image/entry matches are surprising and amusing, with a hint at subversive irony, accurate illustrations as well as visual riddles. The photographic documentation Tobis has collected is in itself a record of changes to Polish landscape and mentality.

Title translations from Picture Vocabulary German and English with 181 black-and-white and 8 colour plates, Third Reprinted Edition (Leipzig: Veb Verlag Enzyklopädie, 1962).

Photographer, painter, teacher. He is a graphic arts graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, where he is now an associate professor. He refers to himself as a photographing observer and compares himself to a mythical inventor of a language, pointing to objects, naming them and creating meanings. He paints when taking a break from observing. His paintings usually allude to the symbolism of dreams, surrealist associations and juxtapositions. He has been working on a long-term project, A-Z (Educational Showcases), since 2006, with a focus on the connection between word and image. Winner of the 34^th Bielsko-Biała Autumnal National Painting Competition in 1999. He lives and works in Katowice.