s t a ke yo u r c l a i m The experience was both physically and creatively grueling. “The physically taxing part was the part I most enjoyed because it became a challenge for me,” he said. “It helped me understand what my body is capable of.” One walk began at the Vatican and headed east toward Mecca to highlight the commonality among all the world’s great religions. Another journey went west from Emanuel, site of the original Roman gods, and ended up 22 miles away on the west coast of Italy. In September 2010, Anzulewicz participated in the University’s art program at Toyo University in Japan. He had been fascinated with the country since childhood because of his love for Japanese animation, but admits he was a bit disappointed when he first arrived. “There were fewer giant flying robots than I’d imagined,” he joked before adding, “It was a fantastic place —the culture and the people in general.” Anzulewicz used the January to March school break to embark on the second half of his photography exhibit. He was about 650 miles from Tokyo on the island of Kyushu when the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit. After several days, he returned to the capitol city, where he was instructed to return home five months ahead of schedule.
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Assistant Professor of Art Aspen Hochhalter, one of the two professors on the study abroad program in Rome, expressed both pride and surprise at the scope and depth of Wanderlust. “We always knew TJ was going to have an exhibit, but the amount of work he’s done and the intensity of this project is definitely unusual for someone at his level. It’s pretty amazing,” she said. Not reflected in the exhibit were the memorable personal encounters Anzulewicz experienced during his solo journey. On one walk in Italy, he found himself dehydrated and out of water with no place to buy any. A man in a quarry offered both beer and water to quench his thirst and refused payment. In Japan, a family invited him inside for a snack and prepared a to-go lunch box for the rest of his walk. Occasionally, he encountered the not-so-hospitable. “A few times in Italy, I really did feel that my life was threatened, like when I nearly got stabbed by a prostitute for trespassing on her territory.” The exhibit and past two years have helped him clarify that he really wants to teach, which will likely require returning to school for a master’s degree. He completed his undergraduate degree in December 2011.
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TJ Anzulewicz
Meanwhile, images from his Wanderlust exhibit are on his website, www.tjanzulewicz.com. Nine of his photos were displayed this spring at the Neighborhood Theater in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood and in the Sanskrit Gallery in the Student Union. Anzulewicz also recently won first place in self-portrait, third place in landscape and honorable mention in portrait in a competition. That the contest was sponsored by UNC Charlotte’s study abroad office was fitting. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to travel in the first place,” he says. Melba Newsome is a freelance writer based in Charlotte, N.C.
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