Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge – Day Four: The Pink Palace

The above photo was taken at the worst possible time – dusk. I hate to even admit that I went to art school for photography, among other things. Now, a decade after graduating, I barely take any photos, and the ones I take are on my phone. I only own an old manual Nikon from the ’70s, which I don’t use. But I didn’t go to art school to become an artist, I went to art school to become a better writer.

To tell you honestly, this post is more about longing than some photograph. When I was living in the US, I’d come to Poland for summer vacations to visit whenever I could. This palace, the Branicki Palace, was pink then, and for me stood for my dream of one day living in Poland.

Branicki Palace was built to look like a smaller Versailles. It’s definitely a beautiful sight in the center of a fairly small town of just 300,000 residents. I’ve never seen the original Versailles, but this palace looks pretty close to what I’ve seen in pictures.

I spent many years longing. My art school days were filled with work about Poland and the duality of existing between two languages and two nations. I even made an art work called The Pink Palace, inspired by the work of Joseph Cornell. I tried to learn about Polish art and culture.

Then I moved, and I couldn’t believe that a dream that seemed so distant and almost impossible came true. I made it come true. There is something unbelievably empowering about realizing your dreams. You learn to believe that you can accomplish pretty much anything. You learn to think: “If I can do this, then I can definitely do…”

But there is also something else about realizing a dream – you leave an empty space where that longing used to be. I longed for so long that now I don’t know what to long for, but I do feel a longing. It’s been ingrained in me.

 

I was nominated to take part in this photo challenge by Geoff Le Pard, who tells the most interesting stories and takes us on wonderful walks, as well as the talented and amazing Sacha Black. I nominate Solveig Werner to take up this challenge. She lives in France at the moment, so it only seems fitting. 🙂

The rules of the Five Photos, Five Stories Challenge are:

1) Post a photo each day for five consecutive days.
2) Attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or a short paragraph. It’s entirely up to the individual.
3) Nominate another blogger to carry on the challenge. Your nominee is free to accept or decline the invitation. This is fun, not a command performance!