Art Student Agnes Portalewska will graduate this spring from UMass Boston with a double major in art and anthropology. During her four-year career at the university, Portalewska explored various techniques in black and white photography, amongst other media. In this week’s “Art to the Editor,” we will get a closer look at some of Portalewska’s endearing photographic work.

The pictures to the right are of Portalewska’s grandmother in the house where she grew up in her native country of Poland.

“I moved here when I was seven,” Portalewska explained in a recent interview. “I lived here until I was sixteen, and moved back to Poland for high school. I returned to the States to go to college, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Portalewska’s handwriting appears in white ink, scrawled along the sides of the photographs, creating a very intimate and personal feel to the artwork. It’s as if the viewer has stumbled upon an old family album.

Written in her native tongue, the penmanship relays stories and memories of her childhood, and describes the home that is so dear to her.

In explaining her work, Portalewska alternates between formal analysis and subjective remembrance:

“Basically, it was about space, a very specific space, and how that space made me feel. These pictures are of my grandmother and the experience is very subjective. I took the photos when I went to Poland last summer during my annual pilgrimage. I go back to Poland every summer to visit my family and my grandmother, who still lives in the house where I spent much of my childhood. Every time I go back it’s so spiritual, that’s why I call it a ‘pilgrimage.'”

Portalewska has especially benefited from the two areas of study she decided to focus on. Photography has enabled her to express herself visually, and anthropology has given her a more academic understanding of the world around her.

Once again, UMass Boston has been graced with the presence of greatness.