"The Book of Wonder" is the photographic book by Magdalena Franczuk inspired by Franciszek Leon Madaleyski's travel diary (in progress). The Book contains 10 chapters about 10 spiritual wonders. It will be released in 2016. The first part "Let there be light" tells about surrender, love and communion. Here you can see the trailer/omens of 3 chapters ("Witches or Bees", "Song of Love", "Revelation of J.") and handmade collages/still life from the series.

Franciszek Leon Madaleyski (born in 1846 in Lviv, died 1912 in Dannemora, Sweden), a little known Polish traveller, an occultist, and Freemason. The diary of the author is full of his odd adventures, which influenced his spiritual life. Madaleyski never noted any information about the place or the date of the described events. He was only focused on the spiritual aspect. Every part of "The Book of Wonder" is inspired by another adventure of Madaleyski.

"The Book of Wonder" will be my diploma project, it is still the work in progress. The final result of the project will be the photobook (stylized mystical book) inspired by Franciszek Leon Madaleyski's travel diary. The book will contain ten autonomous chapters about spiritual wonders inspired by Madaleyski's adventures. Every section will consist of texts, photographs and collages.

The huge part is already done and it is called "Let there be light" (five chapters). I decided to publish the trailer (which I call the omens) of three chapters on the web. There are pictures from "Witches or Bees", "The Revelation of J." and "Song of Love" chapters. Soon I will start to work on the second part of the book called "The Forbidden Fruit".
-Magdalena Franczuk

I like to mix the photo shoot portrait pictures with still lifes and hand-made collages, I decided to use this method in "The Book of Wonder". The look of the photoshoots' design is mostly the effect of my cooperation with Barbara Ferlak, very talented set designer. We need to think about every little detail of the set to make the pictures look properly. In fact, there is no graphic manipulation in the postproduction.

The same thing is about the collages. They do not exist as the objects, they are the labile arrangements of the vintage engravings and the prints on calque made by me. Only the photo camera becomes a kind of glue and links the parts of the image. All the vintage books used come from my private collection.
-Magdalena Franczuk

"The Book of Wonder" is for me an extremely vast project. It tells about various aspects of spirituality. You can find there the elements of magic, Judaism and Christianity blending together. The basic inspiration for the content are esotericism and secret knowledge, but it is also my tribute to my favourite painters, writers and movie directors. Every chapter will be full of references (for example) to Alejandro Jodorowsky or Mikhail Bulgakov.
-Magdalena Franczuk

My advice is to listen to yourself and not to be dependent on what other people create or what other people would like you to create. Just freak out with your mind and be absolutely focused on what you truly love. I use Canon 5D Mark II.
-Magdalena Franczuk

Magdalena is also looking for a publisher of her book, you can email her for more info.

About Magdalena Franczuk

Magdalena Franczuk, born in 1992, in Wrocław (Poland) - currently based in Łódź. Magdalena is a photography student at The Leon Schiller National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź, Poland (almost finishing her studies). She's also a director of video arts and short movies, a passionate writer and a bibliophile. See more of her work at Behance.