Adam Lach: Stigma

Adam Lach is a Polish photographer. He is based in Warsaw, Poland. Co-founder of Napo Images and vice president of Napo Foundation. He photographed for The New York Times, "Le Monde", "GEO", "The New Yorker", "Vice".

Poland – 

“STIGMA” tells the story of 60-person family of Romanian Romas living in the encampment in Wroclaw. This is not another chapter of colorful legend about gypsies – there are no caravans, no campfires, no dancing and singing – there are people with remarkable stories. This group of nomads, depended on never-ending looking for a better world, unawarely influenced by the mass culture, struggles with the same worries as every modern man.

Stigma Project



“It’s easy to fight for the rights of people who scream loud. It’s harder to see the ones that aren’t demonstrating. By narrowing the photographed places only to Psie Pole – a part of the district of Wroclaw occupied by Roma slums – I’m taking away the possibility to observe the Romas while doing what’s commonly seen as their every-day reality – beggary and theft. With the family, separated from the rest of the society, they appear as completely different people – opposite to the typical image.

They struggle not only with hard everyday life but also with the city authorities and with the neighbors. Among the citizens of Wroclaw they are seen as beggars, thieves and swindlers what causes repeated acts of aggression. Any operation of the city authorities that is supposed to solve the problem of Roma, leads to intimidation and the attempts of eviction. Above all “STIGMA” is the tale about family, relationships and emotions of the people who, in spite of everything, seem to be happy and calm. It’s also an attempt to analyze the shape of present-day family in the borderland of tradition and modernity.” – Photography feature – Adam Lach

Related Posts

Jason Larkin: Tales From the City of Gold

South-Africa A city built on gold, Johannesburg was founded in 1886, when settlers and immigrants descended on the largest reef …

Corrupt Infernos – Abir Abdullah

Bangladesh – The Alexia Foundation has announced that the winner of the 2013 Alexia Professional Grant: Abir Abdullah. The Alexia …

The Forgotten Cowboys – John Ferguson

U.S.A. – As a ten-year-old boy playing cowboys with friends at school in England, I was never allowed to be …

Takeshi Ishikawa: HIJRAS – The Third Gender of India

THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT In Indian society, it is said that when a hermaphrodite baby is born in an …

David León Rodríguez: Decency

Spain –  “LA DECENCIA” …there are two races of men in this world, but only these two: the ‘race’ of …

Andy Rocchelli: “Russian Interiors” – Intimate Portrait of Women in their Private Spaces

Italy –  Andy started to travel to Russia in 2010; there he spent a considerable amount of time working asa …

Manik Katyal on Thomas Mailaender “The Night Climbers of Cambridge”

United Kingdom – With an elegant black velvet cover, ‘The Night Climbers of Cambridge’ is an enthralling collaboration between London …

The Lens of Persia – Abbas

‘IRAN. Shahr Rey. 1997. Four seater motorbike’ Iran – Famous for his sheer aesthetic intellect, rational sense of work and …

Scoffing Pig : Nozomi Iijima

Japan –  I grew up as a farmer’s daughter. My home was sandwiched between a pigpen and a farmhouse and …