Inside the Hotel Polana, a Decaying Resort That Used to Be a Base of the Communist Party















For our latest Cameo we’re having 25 year-old Polish photographer Karol Palka. Karol shares with us Edifice, a series shot in an abandoned and decaying hotel that used to be a base of the Czech Communist Party.
Ciao Karol, thank you for this interview. How are you?
Thank you for having me. I’m fine.
What is photography for you?
For me, photography is a way to discover myself.
What is Edifice about?
Edifice is a visual journey to a time that most would like to forget: the photos document remnants of the Communist regimes that dominated Eastern Europe in the last century. In particular, my photographs show the interiors of the Hotel Polana, a resort that was owned by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. When taking pictures of the facility’s different rooms I had a vivid feeling that the members of the Communist party were there, as if those spaces were frozen in time. My hope is that viewers are able to imagine themselves being there as well and have the same intimate and intuitive connection I felt with the place. I lost myself in making the images and had a lot of fun in the process.
Where can you be found online?
This is my website, and I’m on Instagram.
Keep looking...

FotoFirst — Fascinating Night Pictures Explore the Roots of Mexico’s Indigenous Culture

Origins — Rachel Jump Creates Light Inundated Images Drawing from Her Personal Memories

The Marlborough Theatre — Bharat Sikka Portrays the LGBT+ Community of Brighton

After Eisenhower — Jasmine Clark Explores the Impact of Military Culture on American Society

FotoFirst — Adrian Saker Brings us to Subtopia, a Dark Vision of the English Suburbs

FotoFirst — Anu Kumar Captures Daily Life in the Small Indian Town She Left as a Child

Meet Éanna de Fréine, Photographer, Publisher and Juror of Our ‘Human Environments’ Call
