"PSYCHE" - Monika Wanat's artistic photography exhibition

About the event

PSYCHE - Monika Wanat's exhibition at Defabryka 📅 September 11 - October 19, 2025, Warsaw 🎉 Opening: September 11, 2025, 7:00 PM This fall, Warsaw's Defabryka will become a unique meeting place for art, science, and emotions. From September 11 to October 19, 2025, it will host Monika Wanat's solo photography exhibition titled Psyche, curated by Izabela Rogala. The opening is scheduled for September 11 at 7:00 PM. Art with empathy - a voice for animals Psyche is not just a photographic series but a multidimensional project that Monika Wanat has been developing since 2014, traveling the world and documenting the lives of wild animals with extraordinary sensitivity. Her lens does not serve as a classic nature documentary—it is a medium of empathy through which the artist restores subjectivity to non-human beings. - I photograph animals with the same approach as people—not to humanize them, but to emphasize their individuality - says the artist. - Where there is care, there is love; where there is love, there is grief; where there is grief, there are feelings, and where there are feelings—there is a person. This way of thinking permeates the entire Psyche project—its heart is an attempt to view the world from the perspective of other species, beyond the dominant anthropocentric gaze. Wanat's works are a kind of visual manifesto: full of silence, mindfulness, and respect for the emotionality of other beings. Between photography and science Monika Wanat combines artistic intuition with scientific rigor—she is also a researcher by education, and her artistic projects emerge at the intersection of humanities, biology, and ethology. One example of this synergy is the photograph Looking forward III (2022), documenting the social relationships of zebras. This image corresponds with the latest research published in 2025, which shows that climate change affects the strengthening of social bonds among these animals. Males, when encountering individuals outside their herd, engage in complex greeting rituals—a strategy for protection and mutual survival. - Zebras, in the face of climate change, can cooperate even if they don't belong to the same herd. Without declarations, plans, and debates—they simply act together. For us, it's a lesson. - says Wanat. Such stories—both poetic and scientifically documented—can be found in abundance at the Psyche exhibition. Each work carries a deeper context and invites reflection on the human relationship with nature. The artist on the move Since 2014, Monika Wanat has visited over 30 countries across four continents—from Namibia, through Tanzania, Oman, to Chile. Her photographs have been repeatedly awarded in prestigious international competitions and presented at exhibitions in Poland and abroad. Despite the global scope of her work, the artist always focuses on micro-stories—gestures, glances, emotions that are hard to notice in the rush of everyday life. - The artistic cycle Psyche is a project that shows that other species not only feel and think but also build complex social relationships. It's a story about a world where coexistence, not dominance, is a value - emphasizes the exhibition's curator, Izabela Rogala. An exhibition that changes perspectives The Psyche exhibition at Defabryka is more than a presentation of beautiful photographs. It's an invitation to a conversation—about ethics, responsibility, and humanity's place in nature. The artist poses questions: Can we still listen to other beings? Are we ready to change the way we view the world? Through the power of imagery, the depth of the message, and exceptional sensitivity, Monika Wanat's project can become an important voice in the discussion about the necessity of protecting wildlife and redefining our relationship with nature. EXHIBITION DETAILS - Title: Psyche - Artist: Monika Wanat - Curator: Izabela Rogala - Opening: September 11, 2025, 7:00 PM - Duration: September 11 - October 19, 2025 - Location: Defabryka, Duchnicka 3, Warsaw - Artist's website: https://www.monikawanat.com Honorary patronage: Embassy of Namibia accredited in Poland, Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Warsaw Zoo Media patronage: TVP Kultura, NiezlaSztuka.net portal, Art in Warsaw, ArtPost, Gazeta Żoliborza