Chmielnik, the synagogue, 2015

Photograph of the old synagogue in Chmielnik from Wojciech Wilczyk’s project “There’s no Such Thing as an Innocent Eye”. Taken in 2015, the photograph presents a street with residential housing in the centre of Chmielnik. In the distance, we can see the former synagogue building, now the seat of the “Świętokrzyski Shtetl” Education and Museum Centre.

In the small town of Chmielnik –where, in the 19th century, 94% of the population had been Jewish–, the authorities converted the ruined synagogue into a cultural centre and museum. The building underwent renovation, and a modern exhibition on Jewish history and culture was arranged in it. Since 2014, it has been a tourist attraction of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.

The work, combined with Wojciech Wilczyk’s first photo from 2008, documents the changes taking place in this part of Chmielnik. The old synagogue, neglected for decades, was refurbished. Its dank and run-down walls were dried and plastered. The revitalisation works also covered the vicinity of the synagogue and included the reconstruction of sidewalks, addding a bicycle path and replacing the tarmac with a block-paved street.

Krzysztof Bielawski