9 Gates of No Return

In 9 GATES OF NO RETURN Agata Grzybowska presents 9 persons who for various reasons and life choices have decided to give up their lives in the city and settle in the woods of the Bieszczady Mountains, south-eastern Poland. Bieszczady, which for many are a symbol of freedom and direct, tangible contact with nature, became a trap for them, which they cannot get out from. They live far away from other people, often without electricity and running water, in the huts they built themselves.

Why did they make such decisions? What was driving them? What did they run away from? What did they want to achieve in this way? What the loneliness and melancholy is for them? These are just some of the questions that Grzybowska is trying to answer with 9 GATES OF NO RETURN.

Comprised of two parts, Grzybowska’s book contains extremely powerful portraits and landscapes printed inquadtones, accompanied by colourful polaroids and memorable handwritten interviews. All photographs were taken during several Grzybowska’s winter stays in the Bieszczady Mountains.