The return of/to Pink Glove

Scenes of Utter Kaos

My photo essay on Kaos, club photography and queer night life found its happy home on Electrowerkz blog.

Read it here:

https://www.electrowerkz.co.uk/blog/scenes-of-utter-chaos

London Trans Pride 2021

My photographic set/ report from London Trans Pride 2021.

The march, the beautiful crowd, some long not seen friends, fellow photographers at work, some wide angle situations, the streets, the speeches and as per usual, plenty of details.

Future of Theatre | Digital Theatre Conference from The Stage

I made some video content for The Stage’s the Future of Theatre conference, which due to the pandemic moved entirely online. I filmed and edited a keynote speech by Matthew Xia and an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber. The videos are available to the conference ticket holders. The articles below contain stills from the videos.

Encounter Bow 2021

I documented Encounter Bow, a day of free outdoor arts for the local community. Produced by Chisenhale Dance Space and curated by Moi Tran, the free arts programme included contemporary dance, live art, plant soundscapes, audio walks, balloon art, origami sculptures, book readings and more—for all ages.

The projects playfully explored community care, spaces of joy and the importance of sharing and collecting stories.

With participatory experiences from Anna Sulan Masing, Caro Gervay + Lily Ly, Eelyn Lee, Jason Singh, Kimvi, Moi Tran, ShumGhostJohn, Quang Kien Van and Roman Road Trust.

Quarantune 02 | Last Entry 3am - Polanski, Chadd Curry and 'The Beauty and the Beast' photograph

My photograph of the London based artists Polanski and Chadd Curry had been included in the Quarantune 02 | Last Entry 3am book. Many thanks to Polanski for telling his story based around this archival photograph taken by me at BLANC back in 2014. Printed copies of Quarantune 02 | Last Entry 3am are available form here.

Pornceptual Magazine - Fuck 2020 - Queer Nightlife

My photograph taken at Klub Verboten back in January 2020 has been published in the latest Pornceptual Magazine alongside the article about queer nightlife by Cassidy George. Vielen Dank KV (also for taking and sharing the photos of the print!

Bishopsgate Institute LGBTQ+ Archives contribution

I’m excited to announce that my night life and queer movement documentary photography has been catalogued and archived by Bishopsgate Institute. The collection will be soon updated with some more of my archival club photography dating back to 2013. Bishopsgate Institute will reopen from May 17th, by appointment only.

https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/collections/zbigniew-kotkiewicz-archive

Kill the Bill protest in Central London

I joined and documented the demonstration against the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill*. The turn out was great and it was fantastic to see various groups and communities from across the society protesting together.

Per usual I also portrayed the presence of my fellow photographers/videographers.

*The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill proposes to give police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those which are deemed too noisy or a nuisance.

Queer Extension. Intro to Club Cultural Studies: Queer Contexts

My photograph taken at Kaos, Electrowerkz in 2019 has been published on the Queer Extension project website. It promotes Intro to Club Cultural Studies: Queer Contexts, a course exploring aspects of queer club culture, facilitated by Justin Hunt.

‘This module employs performance studies and sociological methodologies to examine the business of nightlife from an academic perspective.’

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Shop Verboten - ecommerce shoot 2

I shot more images for Shop Verboten, as they are expanding the range of available products. NSFW.

12358 Dance Like It's Political 2021 Collection - lookbook and video shoot

I managed to shoot lookbook images and video for 12358’s first collection in Dalston Superstore’s basement just before the venue’s door closed again following the Tier 4 restrictions.

You can now watch the video via the IGTV link below the image.

Many thanks to the talented Timothy Wang, 12358 creator and designer who got me on board, to Mattéo for modelling and to Matt at Dalston Superstore for allowing us to use the space.

https://www.12358.co.uk

Christmas Allsorts - production trailer

I made a production trailer for the Queen’s Theatre’s ‘Christmas Allsorts’ variety show. For the first time ever the theatre wasn’t able to produce a pantomime however they managed to create this glamorous and funny 4 actors/musicians show. Unfortunately the production had a very short run due to the pandemic and Tier 4 restrictions introduced in London only two days after the opening night.

Misfits at Queen's Theatre, production photography

I took some production shots of the latest Queen’s Theatre’s production. Due to the lockdown Misfits is available to watch online only. It’s live-streamed until Sunday 22 November https://www.queens-theatre.co.uk/whats-on/show/misfits/

Strajk Kobiet/ Polish Women on Strike - demonstration outside the Polish Embassy in London

In response to Poland’s ban on abortion, people rallied in front of the Polish Embassy in London, lighting candles and chanting in a show of mass solidarity with everyone, who have been out in the Polish streets taking part in ongoing daily protests. On Friday night while we were showing our support in London, Warsaw saw the biggest demonstration since the Solidarity movement of the 1980s. Poland already has the strictest abortion law in Europe, which the ruling party wants now to take even further. An extra outrage is caused by the government’s efforts to introduce the new restrictions undemocratically, fast tracking them via Constitutional Tribunal, which recently appointed members are all the Government’s cronies. Those people not only aren’t impartial but also aren’t qualified judges and make decisions based on their personal and religious believes.

Women and their supporters are demanding reverting the oppressive and dangerous changes in law. People are also calling for the right wing government to step down and are demanding a secular state.

The London protest was intense and inspiring. Despite the fact that there were many creative and playful chants and placards, the message sent to the Polish government was clear and serious - don’t mess with us and respect women’s rights.