INTENTIONAL LOSSES

INTENTIONAL LOSSES – new exhibition at DSH!

Opening: 8.10.2025, 18:00
Exhibition: 9.10.2025–22.02.2026

DSH invites you to an exhibition of photographs by Magnum photojournalists such as Sabiha Çimen, Abbas, Antoine d’Agata, Rafał Milach, Paolo Pellegrin, Moises Saman and Jérôme Sessini. The exhibition “INTENTIONAL LOSSES” is curated by Katarzyna Puchalska (DSH) and Beata Łyżwa-Sokół (DSH), with Irene Lombardo (Magnum Photos) as co-curator. The exhibition's graphic design and visual identity were created by Barbara Sługocka and Julia Wróblewska (Lotne Studio).

The exhibition can be seen at the DSH headquarters at ul. Karowa 20.

The opening is accompanied by the premiere of the album “Straty zamierzone”, which will be available for purchase at the DSH Bookshop.

Magnum Photos was founded in 1947 by five photographers: Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, David “Chim” Seymour, George Rodger and William Vandivert, who gained recognition partly through covering armed conflicts. Over decades, Magnum Photos became a prestigious photographic agency whose archives chronicle the political and social history of the world.

At the DSH exhibition we will see a selection of a dozen or so images from the Magnum archive by creators such as Antoine d’Agata, Sabiha Çimen, Rafał Milach, Paolo Pellegrin, Moises Saman and Jérôme Sessini, which form a photo report on life during the war in Ukraine. The curators have added several photographs by Abbas from the war in the former Yugoslavia to this short photographic narrative.

The war in Ukraine is an attack on a sovereign state and a conflict Europe has not experienced for years. It is taking place on a continent perceived as a safe and stable place to live. Our generation believed that atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia would not repeat in Europe. Yet a full-scale war has been going on for a third year, a few hundred kilometres from Warsaw. It has claimed hundreds of thousands of victims. It is unknown how and when it will end.

Destroyed cities, infrastructure, mass graves, abducted children are not “collateral damage” — “accidental losses among civilians caused by military actions” — but intentional losses: victims of executions, shelling, bombings, planned abductions. Documentary photography, gathering testimonies and publishing verified information and facts seem more important than ever; they counter political propaganda and fake news.

The curators emphasize the difficulty of the task — to select a dozen or so images from the Magnum archive and create a photo report on life during the war in Ukraine that would move and provoke reflection. Initially there were plans to show life among ruins, referring to photographs of Warsaw’s post‑WWII reconstruction, but it was decided that it was hard to focus on that aspect while the war is still ongoing.

• authors of the photographs: Abbas, Antoine d’Agata, Sabiha Çimen, Rafał Milach, Paolo Pellegrin, Moises Saman, Jérôme Sessini
• curators: Katarzyna Puchalska (DSH), Beata Łyżwa-Sokół (DSH) and Irene Lombardo (Magnum Photos; co-curator)
• exhibition graphic design and visual identity: Lotne Studio (Barbara Sługocka, Julia Wróblewska)
• project coordination and exhibition production: Beata Łyżwa-Sokół
• editing: Małgorzata Purzyńska
• translation: Krzysztof Ścibiorski (English), Natalia Rymska (Ukrainian)
• proofreading: Anna Kaniewska (Polish), Christopher Smith (English)
• exhibition project implementation: Mateusz Wierzbicki
• preparing photos for print in the catalogue: Tomasz Kubaczyk
• events programme: Katarzyna Puchalska, Beata Łyżwa-Sokół and Sebastian Gawęda, Weronika Komorowska, Agata Kucharska
• family guide development: Magdalena Kreis, Magdalena Szymańska (editing and proofreading)
• promotion: Marianna Januszewicz, Maja Raczyńska, Marta Rogowska, Nadzieja Rudzka, Kaja Stępkowska

The DSH exhibition is produced in cooperation with Magnum Photos.

Photo © Jérôme Sessini / Magnum Photos
A destroyed bridge over the Siverskyi Donets river in Stary Saltiv one year after the Russian invasion. Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 2 March 2023.

PHOTOGRAPHERS' BIOGRAPHIES

Abbas
Born in 1944 in Iran, based in Paris, Abbas documented political and social life in conflict zones. From 1970 he covered wars and revolutions including Biafra, Bangladesh, Northern Ireland, Vietnam and the Middle East. He joined Magnum Photos in 1981; he died on 25 April 2018 in Paris.

Antoine d’Agata
Born in Marseille, he studied and worked worldwide. He joined Magnum Photos in 2004. His works have been shown at venues including Centre Pompidou and the Nobel Peace Center; he carries out international projects and exhibitions.

Sabiha Çimen
Born in 1986 in Istanbul, she works on reflexive projects about women and Islamic culture. A member of Magnum Photos; recipient of awards and residencies, in 2025 she received a Guggenheim fellowship.

Rafał Milach
A visual artist, photographer and lecturer. His work focuses on relations between society and power. He joined Magnum Photos in 2018.

Paolo Pellegrin
Born in 1964 in Rome. A member of Magnum Photos since 2005, he is a multiple award-winner and author of numerous books and international exhibitions. He currently lives in Geneva.

Jérôme Sessini
Born in 1968 in France. A respected conflict photojournalist, member of Magnum Photos since 2016. His work has been published in The New Yorker and Time.

MAGNUM PHOTOS
Magnum Photos is a cooperative of renowned independent photographers, founded in 1947. Learn more