What Can Be Seen and What Cannot Be Seen is a hands-on experimental photography workshops led by visual artist and photographer Paweł Kula, created as part of the 7th edition of the We Do Festival of Contemporary Polish Arts & Culture: Turning Point.

We invite you to explore the roots of photography, where natural processes, light, and imagination take center stage. Guided by Paweł Kula, participants will discover how to make images without a camera—using plants, sunlight, pigments, and self-built optical toys. The workshop is a playful yet profound journey into the connections between art and science.

Workshop highlights

• Experiment with natural light-sensitive materials and create camera-less images such as cyanotypes and lumen prints.
• DYI: build your own simple cameras and optical toys to experience how light can be transformed into image.
• Capture the path of the Sun through solarigraphic techniques—merging photography with astronomy.

Explore questions such as:

• How does light reveal what we cannot normally see?
• What happens when we use nature itself as a photographic medium?
• Can experimentation change the way we perceive reality?

Over the course of four days, participants will develop a series of unique visual works that combine craft, curiosity, and experimentation. The results will be presented publicly during the final day of the We Do Festival.

About the Artist

Paweł Kula (@fotopeuta) is a visual artist, photographer, and educator exploring archaic techniques, natural light-sensitive processes, and DIY practices. Co-creator of solarigraphy (2000), he builds optical toys and primitive cameras, leads workshops, and lectures at the Academy of Art in Szczecin. He holds a PhD in photography from the University of Arts in Poznań (2023).