The exhibition took place during the Lublin Night of Culture 2022 and served as a metaphorical “graduation project” marking the end of my high school years.

Schola Vitae is a documentation of the “school of life,” represented by the interiors of the "3LO im. Unii Lubelskiej" in Lublin. The exhibition itself was held in the school sport hall, where—positioned at the center of the space—we played table tennis, echoing the casual, symbolic gesture of shared youth culture like Taco and Dawid Podsiadło ;)


Statement:

"The exhibition “DIPLOMA” presents the photographic series Schola Vitae by Tommy Block, a graduate of the 3rd General Secondary School named after the Union of Lublin in Lublin. The project was created in the second half of 2021.

The series consists of nine photographs, set in nine school locations, featuring nine teenage models. By placing his distinctive visual language within the school environment, the artist pays tribute to the walls of the institution. The aesthetic of the photographs blends reportage photography with staged portraiture.

The title of the exhibition refers to the original idea behind the series, which was realized by the artist during his final year of high school. As the artist himself wrote in his publication:

“I interpret this project as a ‘diploma’—although only a high-school one, it was nevertheless necessary in order to show how I feel and how I perceive everyday life at this school.”

The one-day opening, held in the school building where the works were created, was intended to allow viewers to momentarily step into the space between the photographs, the artist, and the school—which, as the title of the series suggests, is a school of life."