The series “Balance on the Border” is part of a larger, constantly expanding project in which I examine the relationship between humans and the geographical, economic, health and social peripheries. My interest lies in places and stories where human presence is far from the centers – not only in the aforementioned aspects, but also in a symbolic sense.

The series currently runs on two main thematic threads. One is the lake and its surroundings that formed in the area of ​​an abandoned clay mine. An artificially created, yet organically functioning landscape that shows the strange coexistence of nature, local people and the industrial past. The lake was created when the impermeable soil layer was broken during mining, so the area was flooded. The other thread is related to local education, and within it, to art education: how education can give young people a perspective, a foothold – even in limited circumstances – and how learning can ensure the possibility of development and moving on from the environment.

I try to capture the specific atmosphere of border regions: how to find a balance between lack and opportunity. How simple things can become great. The region where I work is disadvantaged in many ways – resources are more limited, healthcare and cultural services are weaker – yet I am confronted again and again with the ability of the people living here to expand their own world, to find joy and the purpose necessary for existence.

This project is part of a long-term commitment. I document stories not as an outsider, but as a participant, while trying to make visible those destinies that, although tied to a place, are not ordinary.