Poland, 2015
In contemporary Poland there is a decades old culture of emigration which intensified when the country joined the EU, which brought its citizens the freedom of movement around the European continent. Large numbers of Polish people are moving away from the country looking for a better life, particularly to the UK, Germany and Ireland. Many people in Poland suffered due to the country's change from communism as most of the state industries suddenly stopped operating. This left large numbers of unemployed people who turned to migration to seek work and gain a certain measure of security over their lives.
In Poland the old-fashioned and the modern are clashing. Religious and old mentalities are forced to compete with the new free-market-led and progressive society. There is less acceptance of the stubbornness of the old generation but this also creates a sense of confusion and longing with the youth. As a country that still seems to be in the process of changing, much of the population is finding that there is not a space for them within their homeland society.
The pictures in this series explore the reasons why so many Polish people are moving abroad to live and work, looking deeper than the usual unemployment issues that often cause such migration. It looks at the clash of cultures which is causing Polish society to be stuck in the transitional years after communism.