(Olek borrowed a camping trailer from his mother and took his family to Lake Ukiel. He wanted to propose to Natalia. After dinner he formally gave his girlfriend a ring.)

name

Childhood Cut Short (Young mother) (from series)

Driven by curiosity, Natalia, a fourteen-year-old, began experimenting with drugs and discovered she liked it. Olek, sixteen, joined a group of young drug addicts, where he met Natalia. After several months Natalia got pregnant. She was very afraid that she would be left alone with the child. I witnessed their determination and their daily efforts to balance between parenthood and adolescence.

author

Małgorzata Leszczyńska

freelance photographer

Małgorzata Smieszek (born 1973) is a photographer and documentarian. She is the author of series: Red Zone (about loneliness in COVID wards), It Happens (about the work of rescue teams). Her documentary photographs make people reflect on various aspects of life, focusing mainly on existential issues related to loneliness, freedom, fear of the future, and the search for meaning in life.