Maciej Korsan

“Kiś ogórki, nie emocje” mural

drone photo documentation of a mental-health mural on a Medical University dorm

  • photography,
  • public space
A white dormitory tower in Białystok with a mural of two green pickles and speech bubbles reading “Kiś ogórki…” and “…nie emocje!”, a street and trees in the foreground

Two smiling cucumbers on the wall of Dorm No. 2 of the Medical University of Białystok are having a chat: “Kiś ogórki…” – “…nie emocje!” – roughly “Pickle cucumbers, not your feelings!”. The line underneath reads: “Suppressing and not expressing emotions can lead to health problems. Expressing emotions is OK. Let’s talk, communicate, live together.”

The mural was designed by Andrzej Rysuje. The idea came from the Up To Date Festival team and the Pogotowie Kulturalno-Społeczne association, and it was made together with the Medical University of Białystok and its Psychiatry Clinic, which reviewed the wording. It belongs to the Don’t Worry Be Yourself campaign and kicks off a wider effort about coping with stress – kisogorkinieemocje.pl explains the idea and lists helpline numbers.

I photographed the mural from the drone. The pictures went into the organisers’ press materials and were published by BiałystokOnline, Podlaskie24 and Podlaskie.news, among others.

The two-cucumber mural on the dorm rising above green treetops, with Orthodox church domes and colourful apartment blocks in the background
Białystok from high above: among the apartment blocks, a white dorm with two green cucumbers on its wall, forest on the horizon

Sources

kisogorkinieemocje.pl