Welcome to the Real World - Short Stories by Dominik Klimowski

9th March 2009

A heavily pregnant woman enters a lift, a man swims into the ocean in the middle of the night, another man wakes up on the pavement in Soho Square and a little girl decides to enter a dark forest on her own. This is how four of the twelve short stories contained in the book ‘Welcome to the Real World’ begin. They come from the mind of Dominik Klimowski where they sit together with memories of his own childhood, gothic fairytales, and ideas and recollections that have crept up on him ‘in the middle of the night when I’m not asleep, or awake.’ Each of the twelve stories is illustrated by a different artist, whose work both suits the workings of Dominik’s mind and in turn inspires them. In this sense it is a collaborative piece of work. ‘The idea is not to have a book with simple illustrations acting as a visual guide to what you are reading. It should be seen as more of a whole, as one long dream interrupted by moments of waking.’ Whether the stories are the dreams, or the moments of waking, we can never be sure, but when coming to the end of the book one has an unnerving feeling that all the stories are inexplicably connected, despite their very different protagonists, locations, and even their timelines. This is one reason for the choice of artists to provide the visuals for the book. For in most of the tales the locations are not revealed, yet some suggest Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and even the United States, while those stories that do specify a location are heavily rooted in London, specifically the artier, trendier areas.

Dominik Klimowski

The title ‘Welcome to the Real World’ alludes to the fact that all the stories use as their main theme Dominik’s personal experiences, or those described to him by close friends. This can come as quite a surprise when you read them, but of course as we all know, the real life element can be stranger than the fiction. The characters that inhabit the tales, particularly the main protagonists are often ‘people who are either experiencing some kind of crisis, or imagining how their life would be if they followed a different road. Their habits and characteristics stem from insecurity and a general feeling of being lost and all alone. I’d like to categorically state that I’m not suffering from any crisis, but you sometimes you have to wonder when your work touches on the same themes more than once.’ Of course it can be argued that there are fewer lonely careers one can follow than that of an artist or a writer.

Dominik Klimowski’s photography work has been exhibited most recently at Tapestry, Frith Street, Soho. He has had work published in magazines such as Tank, Ambit, and The Guardian Weekend magazine, and has made book covers for Bloomsbury, Random House and Faber&Faber. His first exhibition in London was described as ‘the kind of work David Lynch would have hanging upside down on his walls at home’. Welcome to the Real World is the first exhibition to combine his writing and photography.

Neal Fox, Bill Bragg, Chris Bianchi and Robert Greene, as well as being individual artists in their own right are the founders of the magazine and Hackney-based art-machine ‘Le Gun’. Regular contributors to Le Gun include Swava Harasymowicz and Steph von Reiswitz whose work can be seen in print in magazines such The Guardian Weekend and book covers for various publishers, as well as online for the BBC. Swava's work concentrates on drawing and silkscreen, she has also designed film posters and has exhibited at the Warsaw Poster Biennale. Andrzej Klimowski has gone from designing posters in Warsaw in the 70s to illustrating countless book covers, magazine and newspaper articles. He has published four books, two of which are wordless novels. Most recently he has collaborated with Danusia Schejbal on a graphic novel adaptation of Bulgakov’s ‘The Master and Margarita’. They are currently working together again on an adaptation of ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. A former theatre costume and set designer, Danusia Schejbal also works as a painter, exhibiting regularly. Ali Mobasser, Graeme Stuart and Tom McShane are London and Hastings-based photographers whose work has been taken, and shown, all over the world. They have also contributed heavily to UK magazines, newspapers and advertising campaigns as well as directing music videos. All of the above have exhibited in London and abroad. This is the first time they will exhibiting together.

‘Welcome to the Real World’ is a limited-edition book of twelve illustrated short stories. An exhibition of the original artwork as well as a chance to buy the book will be at The Coningsby Gallery in April 2009.

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