85

Kinga Wrona

2022 — Palma, Spain

About this series

When it comes to questions about how volcanoes work, practically everything remains a mystery. Signals may appear before an eruption, but it is never certain when or if it will occur. Volcanoes symbolize the duality of destructive force and new beginnings. The Spanish Canary Island of La Palma exists only because of a volcanic eruption that formed the land long ago, creating the archipelago known as the Canary Islands. In 2021, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma remained active for 85 days. The eruption was the longest in the island’s history and the most destructive of the last century in Europe. Although the volcano has been declared extinct, it changed people’s lives irreversibly while simultaneously demonstrating mankind’s powerlessness against nature’s forces. Fascinated by this natural phenomenon and intrigued by the relationship between the island’s inhabitants and their environment, I traveled to La Palma twice in 2022. I spent hours talking to the locals and embarking on solitary journeys across the island. During my travels, I experienced firsthand how closely intertwined human life is with nature, as well as how fragile the environment shaped by humans can be. What I found particularly unique was the local residents’ approach to life and their deep humility towards the volcano. “Living here on a volcanic island is a love-hate relationship simultaneously,” I was told.

Photographer: Kinga Wrona
Nationality: Polish
Based in: Poland
Website: www.kingawrona.com
Instagram: @kinga_wro

Kinga Wrona is Polish documentary photographer whose works explore the relationship between humans and nature in the context of climate change, natural disaster or environmental degradation.
She is an artist selected as finalist of Paris Photo Carte Blanche in 2024 and nominated to FUTURES (emerging photographers platform) in 2023.
Her works have been exhibited, among others, during Head On Festival 2024 (Sydney, Australia), Kranj Foto Festival 2024 (Kranj, Slovenia); Festival Circulacion (S) 2023 Paris (France); Outside the walls, Paris Metro Stations 2023 (Paris, France); Daegu Photo Biennale, 2023 (South Korea); „A sense of place”, Bpart Gallery 2023, Berlin (Germany).
Her project “85” has been projected during Les Rencontres d’ Arles
2024 at Fondation Manuel Ortiz.
She has published among others in Revue EPIC, Polka magazine, PUBLICO, The Calvert Journal, National Geographic Polska and New York Post.