Life in lockdown hasn't been particularly easy, especially if you're in New York City, where being contained to your home might mean passing all of your time in your tiny, 600-square-foot apartment. For creatives, there's all the time in the world to do just that, "be creative," but seeking inspiration within four walls poses a new challenge. Photographer Stanislaw Boniecki has lived in his Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment for the last six years, but he's managed to create an entirely new project within the space he knows all too well.
"I know it so well that I thought it cannot be inspiring," he recalls. "I am here with my wife who I love to shoot no matter what, but the place… I just started to look, almost as an exercise, for some interesting bits and snap. Thats how [the book] started."
Over the last few months, Boniecki photographed everything from his groceries — a ruby red grapefruit, split open and plated, alongside homemade bread — to a still life in his bathroom and his expecting wife, who's due any day now. "We've been staying home since March 13," he explains. "During that time we both got coronavirus and our building went on fire. I shot more than fifteen hundred images and read a lot of newspapers. I wrote down some quotes and combined them with the pictures." The result is a loving portrait of his marriage, his home and a calming depiction of his daily life, despite the fact that inside, as well as outside was in a state of chaos at times. See more of the photos from Boniecki's new book, Stay Home, below.
