Sunspot

Joanna Tochman (b. 1992, Kraków)
A visual artist and graduate of Art History at the Jagiellonian University and the Painting Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, where she completed her diploma in 2018 in the studio of Prof. Andrzej Bednarczyk. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the Doctoral School of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Her artistic practice spans painting, photography, and sculptural objects. In her work, she navigates the boundary between the real and the imagined, exploring themes of space, landscape, places and non-places.

She was a finalist of the Hestia Artistic Journey (2018), winner of the Nowy Obraz / Nowe Spojrzenie competition (2018), Grand Prix recipient of the Eibisch Competition (2019), a two-time finalist of the Strabag Artaward International (2021, 2023), finalist of Lubelska Wiosna (2023), and winner of the Young Space Award for Visual Arts Scotland (2022). Her first solo exhibition, I’ll Tell a Different Story, A Stranger One, took place in 2019 at the Duża Scena UAP Gallery in Poznań.

RUST Publishing is an independent artistic and publishing collective run by Jakub Szachnowski and Heiner L. Beisert, focused on exploring contemporary forms of visual storytelling, with a particular emphasis on photography and the visual arts. The collective’s main goal is to promote niche and experimental publishing formats — including zines, artist books, and photographic prints. By combining self-publishing practices with cultural events — such as exhibitions, workshops, and artist talks — RUST creates a space for creative experimentation and dialogue. To date, the collective has produced eight publications, which have been recognized at prestigious national and international events.