As an antidote and provocation, during such uncertain times ... perhaps we all need a teddy bear to hug? Why are people so eager to take photos with a white bear? What is mythical, magical and universal about it that everyone has a photo with it? Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska from Oficyna Wydawnicza, Poland are wondering. Intrigued, they followed the bear's trail. Maybe today, in these uncertain times, we need a teddy bear with an arm around us? Not dangerous, but a powerful and strong animal master that you can hug and pet.

‘Our Streets are full of White Bears’ project received the Honorary Partnership of the City of Zakopane and was under the patronage of the Tatra Museum. Dr. Tytus Chałubiński. 

Why are people in Poland so keen to take photos with a white bear? What is so mythical, magical and universal about it that everyone has their picture taken with it? Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska wonder. Intrigued, they set off on the trail of the bear. 

They wanted to explore this phenomenon and obtain as many photographs as possible and made a request to the public to collect their photos. They made an appeal on social media, in the press, on the radio and TV. They searched for its traces in libraries and archives. 

The authors received over 1500 pictures from all over Poland, and the oldest photographs are 100 years old. They were obtained from the descendants of furriers, who were the first to make costumes from sheep skins in Zakopane. 

It is possible to recognise the era of the photographs by the costumes and poses of the people, and even by the bear costume itself, which differs in the length of its fur, the shape of its head or ears which evolved over decades. Back in the day, a photographer was taking the pictures, and they were developed overnight and collected the day after. 

These men disguised in sheep skin have also been seen in Germany, Switzerland, and Norway. Maybe some of you have even spotted them in Northern Ireland too? 

The white bear pulls you away from the greyness of everyday life, takes you to the world of fairy tales, to the world of our imagination. The white bear connects all worlds, breaks down boundaries and social barriers. 

Perhaps what we need today, in these uncertain times, is a teddy bear to put his arm around us? The white bear is pleased to meet you!

Artist Bio:

Barbara Caillot and Aleksandra Karkowska have written several books together, created a publishing house and created cultural events. Their brave diligence, inquisitive curiosity and particular sensitivity are not tied to a specific place on the geographical, ethnographic or cultural map of Poland.

They have dealt with metropolitan Warsaw, the highland Podtatrze region, Sopot - a seaside resort - and people travelling on the legendary ship "Batory". For all their differences, their publications have a strong common denominator. It is the memory of things first, simple, deeply personal. An emotional memory ascribed to a specific person, as fleeting and fragile as any single existence. This memory is tenderly cared for by Barbara and Alexandra. They find it, write it down, build a story from it, which, thanks to the book, and exhibition can last and give us. They mother this existence, endowing it with yet another life. A beautiful and important practice.