Katarzyna Mirczak (Polish, b.1980)

Katarzyna Mirczak is a graduate of the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University (Krakow) specialising in Egypt and the Middle East. She was a photographer with an international archaeological expedition in the Black Sea basin, "Pontica - Koshary" organised by the University and the Archaeological Museum of Odessa. After a year at the Institute of Archaeology, Mirczak decided to persue a career in photography.

Since 2007 she has been working as a freelance news photographer and has won numerous awards and prizes in recognition of her work. In addition to her journalistic practice, Mirczak has more recently been investigating the cataloguing of objects and paintings and their associated taxonomies.

Her project 'The Special Signs' was presented at Paris Photo in 2010. The series documents tattoos collected by the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Jagiellonian University since 1872. The sixty skin fragments were removed from deceased prisoners in Kraków and and preserved in formaldehyde. The majority of the prison tattoos represent connections between the convicts and served as a means of visual communication. The collection was created with a view to deciphering this code. By looking closely at the prisoners’ tattoos, their traits, temper, past, place of residence or the criminal group in which they were involved could be determined. Conditions in prisons allowed only for primitive tools and dangerous chemicals to be used in tattooing. Paper clips, pins, wires, razor blades and pieces of glass were used to puncture the skin and powdered coal, charcoal, burned rubber, cork, pencil refills, ink, watercolours and crayons were used as colour pigments.

Image: self-portrait courtesy of the artist.