Lose Yourself In Lines Dissecting.

How does one define a city? Which characteristics of a place can be isolated, framed and used to convey a sense of place? A structure of feeling? North to south, East to west. Losing myself in lines, dissecting.

Having attempted to map Warsaw's resilience and strength through its monuments in a previous story, I set out to map my own sense of place. Where to go? What to portray? What aspects of this city define it to me?

To me, at least it seemed logical to dissect the city from East to West.

Ul. Prosta and Ul. Świętokrsyka track a line from the bustling cityscape of Daszyńskiego in the East, through the historic heart of the city spilling gently into the broad River Wisła at its most western end.

This is Warsaw.

A juxtaposition of modern and ancient, of sharp and blurred and of light an dark. A city full of historic energy, of proud people, of grit and charm.

A city of life.

Rondo Daszyńskiego

Emerging from the metro at Rondo Daszyńskiego. Glass walls rising to the leaden sky. Muted colours arrested by the vivid entrances to another world underground.

Warsaw Metro

Sheltering from the rain, descending into the bowels of the Warsaw Metro. Criss-crossing streams of people, bright lights and mirrored walls. A sense of calm and order. A clash of commerce and community.

The Warsaw Hub

Aspirational curves and spotless reflections behold an almost alien world. A feeling of excitement. Of the unknown and of the up and coming.

The Warsaw Spire

Spring struggles to force its colour in the foliage surrounding The Warsaw Spire. Dry fountains yawn under the stares from monolithic towers. A myriad of reflections, of views merely glimpsed through eyes forced narrow by the wind.

Factory Norblin

The ultimate expression of gentrification. Remnants of the past stand proudly supporting the new, the modern, the "ultra". We're on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto now. Once, a place of terror and trauma, now a place of coffee to go, consumer goods and street food.

Ul. Żelanza

A street that echos the past more vividly than most, crosses my path - a hub of activity. Skyscrapers loom, casting shadows over the old tenement buildings so typical of the cities architectural past. An iconoclastic clash of style. A sense of transition. A multitude of lines, dissecting.

Ul. Prosta

Towering gifts to the gods of commerce sit comfortably with calm open spaces, together with narrow streets, fountains and sculptures. Monuments to historic heroism relax outside convenience stores. An unsettling peace.

An historic port, it played a critical role in the development of Warsaw, serving as a vital transportation hub for goods and people. However, as industries began to decline in the area, the port fell into disuse, and the once-bustling docks were left abandoned.

Świętokrsyka

The centre of the city. Intersection of two metro lines. Commercial hub. Shopping paradise. A gentle descent from calm to complex. Scooters, kebabs, purple and glow. Old and new. Bold and vulnerable.

Mariańska

Hidden behind the glamour, quiet, subdued, struggling for air. Hard working, tired and lack lustre. Empty playgrounds whisper amid the din, looking up in fear as the concrete and glass prepare to devour.

Plac Gryzbowski

Ghetto central. It's impossible to be in this place and not to feel the history it demands be heard. Faded and emphatic. Custodian of desolate memories. Red bricks, glass and pushchairs. A fusion of thoughts.

Metro Świętokrsyka.

We are half way now. Neither East, nor West. Metro Świętokrsyka is a unique underground world. At one moment you are alone, in a maze of passages. Suddenly caught, like a leaf, downstream, funnelled though security gates, QR codes and infographics.