The Photographers' Gallery in London has opened a groundbreaking exhibition featuring Polish photographer Zofia Rydet's monumental project "Sociological Record" (Dossier Sociologique) as part of the UK/Poland Season 2025. The exhibition, which opened in October, showcases one of the most significant achievements in 20th-century Polish photography - a comprehensive documentary portrait of Polish domestic life spanning decades, eras, regions, and cultures.
In 1978, at the age of 67, Zofia Rydet (1911-1997) embarked on a titanic mission: to photograph the interior of every Polish household. Driven by her desire to capture ordinary and lesser-known populations, particularly in rural areas but also in cities, Rydet became increasingly obsessed with her mission to immortalize the cultures and peoples she sought to document. The small woman would travel by bus or with the help of friends who could drive her to different regions across Poland.
Rydet's approach was remarkably direct and personal. She would arrive unannounced at people's homes, knock on doors, and warmly introduce herself, asking residents if they would like to participate in her project. Using a wide-angle lens and newly acquired flash equipment, Rydet was able to capture in great detail the often dark interiors of homes and their inhabitants. She would ask her subjects not to smile and to look straight ahead at the camera, with her subjects posing in their homes rich with personal histories.
Throughout the series, Rydet identified various categories within the Sociological Record, including "Women on Doorsteps," "Professions," "The Sick," "Road Signs," "Windows," "Houses," and "Televisions." She also identified more philosophical themes such as "Presence," highlighting the omnipresence of the image of Polish Pope John Paul II (inaugurated the same year Rydet launched the Record in 1978) within Polish households. Other themes included "The Myth of Photography," which emphasized the central place and importance of family photographs within the home, such as traditional hand-painted studio photographs depicting married couples in sparsely or undecorated houses.
Through her interactions with subjects, sometimes returning to photograph them multiple times over the years, Rydet identified a change in her personal and artistic journey and the role photography played in it. With more than 20,000 images created, many of which were never printed by the end of the project, "Sociological Record" stands as a monumental project and one of the most important achievements in 20th-century Polish photography. Rydet expressed her hopes for this work, stating: "Even if it is not published, it will remain, perhaps not a work of art, but a testimony of our time."
Rydet continued working on the "Record" until 1990, seven years before her death at age 86. This marks the first major exhibition dedicated to Zofia Rydet's Sociological Record archives in the United Kingdom. The exhibition focuses on the small number of rare prints she made from this series in her personal darkroom, including major works "People in Interiors" and other sub-series such as "Women on Doorsteps" and "Presence." It will also feature ephemeral documents from Rydet's archives and original publications.
The exhibition includes additional documentary materials, featuring Polish filmmaker Andrzej Różycki's 1989 documentary "Endlessly Distant Roads" about Rydet, as well as documentary portraits of Rydet at work by Polish photographer Anna Beata Bohdziewicz. The show is produced by The Photographers' Gallery in partnership with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage), Poland, and the Zofia Rydet Foundation.
A new English-language catalog will accompany the exhibition, featuring texts by Zofia Rydet and 100 images from the Sociological Record series. The catalog is edited by Clare Grafik and Karol Hordziej, co-curators of the exhibition, and edited in collaboration with Wojciech Nowicki. It is produced by Lola Paprocki and designed by Brian Kanagaki of Kanagaki Studio, co-published by The Photographers' Gallery and Palm Studios with support from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The exhibition runs from October 10, 2025, through February 22, 2026, at The Photographers' Gallery, located at 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW.
