Armada-Kingdom

Armada-Kingdom—an exhibition presenting Tomasz Armada’s designs through the eyes of photographers at the Kowalsky Gallery in Bochnia
Photographers: Dawid Furkot, Natalia Kabanow, Michał Korta, Agnieszka Murak, Piotr Nykowski, Karolina Wojtas
Curators: Michał Korta, Agata Zborowska

The Kowalsky Gallery in Bochnia hosted a fascinating exhibition titled “Kingdom,” featuring photographs by various artists depicting Tomasz Armada’s designs. His clothing designs, stylings, and photo shoots not only reflect national fantasies but also class aspirations and consumerist desires, skillfully revealing the disparities between growing economic capital and low cultural literacy.

In Armada’s “Kingdom,” the spaces of thrift stores, bazaars, and supermarkets become a source of inspiration and materials that are often pushed to the margins of the fashion world. Shiny jacquards, polyester tracksuits, leopard-print fabrics from thrift stores—what Armada calls “poverty materials”—become the raw materials for creating unique designs. The designer transforms scraps, rags, and the fashion industry’s waste into unique works of art, emphasizing that these elements, though despised, are an integral part of the system.



The exhibition presents two intertwining narratives. The first is the story of the designer himself, whose outfits and selfies blur the line between the public and the private. The second is the perspective of external photographers, who showcase various aspects of contemporary fashion photography, ranging from portraiture to studio and theatrical photography.

The exhibition presents two intertwining narratives. The first is the designer’s own narrative, woven across various media by the designer himself, who—in his stylized looks as well as his “after-hours” selfies—deliberately blurs the line between the public and the private. This narrative intertwines with the external perspective of photographers whose works showcase various facets of contemporary fashion photography. From portraiture, through documentary, to studio and theatrical photography. By employing diverse forms of expression and aesthetics, and drawing on different sensibilities, they not only reinterpret the young designer’s work but also document the phenomenon of contemporary fashion. Fashion that intrudes.

Photographs by Michał Korta
February 12, 2022–March 14, 2022 Kowalsky Gallery, Bochnia