"Cats, Dogs and Queers"
LGBTQ+ Poland
I was born in Szczecin in 1983 and moved to Germany with my family in 1989.
For a long time, Poland was mainly a place of origin to me – a language, a history.
I had little personal connection to the country, except for occasional visits to my father in Kołobrzeg.
Since 2015, the right-wing conservative PiS party has been in power in Poland.
Their politics are closely intertwined with the Catholic Church, which holds significant influence over society and politics.
In this environment, starting in 2019, more and more “LGBTQ-free zones” were declared – municipalities openly excluding queer people and systematically denying their rights.
In autumn 2019, I traveled to Warsaw to understand what these developments meant on the ground.
I met people who showed me how strongly queer life in Poland is shaped by invisibility, fear, and social rejection.
At the Independence Day march in Warsaw, I heard slogans like:
“Chłopak i dziewczyna – normalna rodzina”
(A boy and a girl – that’s a normal family.)
These words reflect a social climate that rejects diversity and threatens the existence of many queer people.
When, the following year, President Andrzej Duda referred to the LGBTQ+ community not as people but as an “ideology” – more dangerous than communism – it became clear to me: this is my subject.
Between 2020 and 2024, supported by a grant from VG Bildkunst that allowed me 100 days in the country, I regularly traveled to Poland.
I visited and photographed 217 people in their homes – often the only places where they truly feel safe.
Many were afraid to show themselves, yet they trusted me.
This book presents a selection of around 100 portraits – those in which pets also appear.
Whether cat, dog, or rabbit – these animals were often closest confidants, emotional supports, and quiet anchors in an uncertain everyday life. Their presence was almost always taken for granted – and yet deeply meaningful.
The portraits were created in a staged visual language, using living spaces, interiors, and personal belongings.
The home became a stage on which everyday lives are told.
Poland now has a new government. But social attitudes don’t change overnight.
The exclusion of queer people remains a reality – not only in Poland.
Even as political shifts begin, social reality for many LGBTQ+ people continues to be difficult.
Visibility is still not a given.
This book aims to contribute to change.
Not loudly or accusingly, but through images that take their time – and invite close, careful looking.
Cats, Dogs and Queers is an excerpt from my larger project “I am not an Ideology”.
It stands for queer people in Poland and worldwide – people who remain visible despite fear and rejection, who tell their stories, and claim space.
Funded by VG Bildkunst.
To keep the Project alive, feel free to donate and support my journeys to Poland.
