groeipijn (Growing pains), 2021

Paula Kowalski (1995) opened her exhibition Groeipijn (Growing Pains) at PAND on June 19, 2021. For this project, she interviewed ten people about themes such as vulnerability, personal growth, pride, joy, and many other topics that, in her view, are not discussed enough in our society. Believing that our educational system does not pay enough attention to personal development, she shows us the importance of vulnerability and of sharing our stories.

For many young people, life can sometimes become overwhelming: performance pressure, the feeling of not being good enough, the flood of emotions. How do you deal with all of this? How do you learn from pain and hardship? Paula especially wants to teach young people the importance of self-reflection and personal development. We can help each other by sharing our struggles—not just the polished version of our lives, as increasingly seems to happen in our digital world. According to Paula, self-reflection and personal growth deserve our focus, not merely self-presentation. A combination of audio and photography offered an intimate glimpse into the lives and thoughts of those portrayed.

We leren door te delen.
Van elkaar leren.
Met elkaar.

Erkenning, herkenning,
herinneringen, ervaringen.
Met ieder gesprek groei ik dichter bij mezelf.

We learn by sharing.
Learning from each other.
With each other.

Recognition, reflection,
memories, experiences.
With every conversation, I grow closer to myself.