In 2009 Karolina Gembara moved to Delhi to learn photography and stayed for seven years. When we lie down, grasses grow from us, comprises photographs taken during this period, as Gembara developed a love/hate relationship with the city, borne out of a combination of fascination, homesickness and a feeling of transience.

During her time in the city, Gembara moved around frequently and found it difficult to establish a home, or a place where she felt truly comfortable. She met many in a similar position – housing was temporary and even romantic relationships were somehow superficial and makeshift.

“The pictures I took during those years speak about that craving for comfort in the big city, and the loneliness that accompanied us every day. They also reveal my own need for a home and an attempt to create one.”

Gembara was never comfortable taking photographs on the street and so, over time, cultivated her own visual language – one which prevented her from being a mere onlooker. She turned both to friends and people she could identify with, and to those with whom she could talk. She began to search for the quiet, isolated moments she shared with her subjects in a city where peace is scarce. As a result, the reflective tone of the images in the book is the antithesis of the imagery associated with outsiders to Delhi, and show a contemplative and tender view of the city. Their sentiment is a universal one, shared by many who live in cities far from home and try to build comfort around them.

When we lie down, grasses grow from us was designed by Ania Nałęcka-Milach and the story was edited by Rafal Milach and Jörg Colberg.

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Karolina Gembara lives and works in Warsaw, Poland. She was based in Delhi from 2009 – 2016 and has been a member of Sputnik Photos since 2018. She obtained an MA in International Relations and Diploma in Journalism (2005) from the University of Wroclaw, before studying photography and participating in the first Mentoring Programme with Sputnik Photos, Warsaw (2012-2013). Her work has been exhibited at Parallel Cities, New Delhi (2013), PhotoIreland, Dublin (2014), Angkor Photo Festival, Siem Reap (2014), and PhotoKathmandu, Kathmandu (2015). Her first book, Fitting Roomswas published in December 2013. In early 2015 she was nominated for Prix Pictet and later that year she became a finalist of the Valores Humanos contest.Currently, she is a PHD student at University of Social and Human Sciences SWPS in Warsaw.