WHO SOWS THE WEEVIL,
WILL REAP THE WHIRLWIND
THE WORKS WITHIN THE SERIES ARE THE ARTIST'S PERSONAL JOURNEY INTO THE REALM OF FORGOTTEN NATIVE MYTHOLOGY - „UNCANNY SLAVDOM”. A REFLECTION ON SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE, AND FINALLY TRANSMISSION OF DEEPLY ROOTED IN CONSCIOUSNESS, UNIVERSAL ARCHETYPICAL IMAGINATIONS INTO CONTEMPORARY REALITY. NAVIGATING THROUGH THE VESTIGIAL REMAINS OF THE SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY OCCURS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PURSUING „THE PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY” - STORIES, EVENTS AND NARRATIVES HEARD IN CHILDHOOD, THEY SEEM TO BE A DISTANT AND DISTORTED ECHOS OF SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS FROM THE ANCIENT TIMES. WHAT CONNECTS THEM WITH THE PRESENT, IS THE UNIVERSAL CHARACTER OF SOME IDEAS, COMMON TO ALL CULTURES. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT A BINARY TRANSITION, RATHER AN ATTEMPT AT UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEMPORARY REALITY, THROUGH THE LENS OF CONCEPTS STORED IN HUMAN SUBCONSCIOUSNESS.
FIGHT BETWEEN THE WYRM AND THE DRAGON
THE COSMOGONICAL FIGHT OF ANTAGONISTICALLY RELATED TO EACH OTHER FORCES IS AN ARCHETYPICAL CONCEPT PRESENT IN MANY CULTURES. ITS PURPOSE IS TO JUSTIFY THE EXISTENCE OF THE IDEA OF THE GOOD AND THE EVIL IN THE UNIVERSE. IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY, PORTRAYED AS AN EVERLASTING DUEL BETWEEN THE CREATOR – MOST LIKELY PERUN, AND ITS ADVERSARY THE DEVIL – THOUGHT TO BE WELES. THEY'RE DEPICTED AS MYTHICAL BEASTS OF CHAOS – THE WYRM AND THE DRAGON. THESE DEITIES ARE IN ENTANGLED A CONSTANT FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER, THUS SETTING BALANCE IN THE UNIVERSE. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE WORLD COULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT EACH OF THEM. THE EVIL IS NOT JUST EVIL, AND THE GOOD IS NOT JUST GOOD. THE CONFLICT REFLECTS SOCIAL POLARIZATION PRESENT IN MODERN SOCIETIES. THE CLASH OF OPPOSING WORLD VIEWS OF ADVERSARY PEOPLE. THE DISPUTE IS BASED ON A DICHOTOMIC RULE „WE ARE BETTER – THEY ARE WORSE”. THE STRESS IS PLACED ON THE OPPOSITIONAL ASPECT OF THE DEITIES THAT MAY BE APPLICABLE IN MANY CASES: THE CONSERVATIVES – THE LIBERALS, HOMOPHOBIC – HOMOSEXUALS, WHITE PEOPLE – BLACK PEOPLE, THE BELIEVERS OF ONE RELIGION – THE FOLLOWERS OF ANOTHER RELIGION, MEN – WOMEN, RURAL PEOPLE – URBAN PEOPLE, OLD – YOUNG, ECT.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
160 X 120 CM
2020
TWO FACES OF FEMINISM:
MOKOSH
MOKOSH IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY IS CONSIDERED A DEMON-GODDESS OF FERTILE WET SOIL – GIVING LIFE, THAT ALSO DEVOURS LIFE – BRINGS DEATH. SHE IS THE FORCE THAT DECIDES UPON ALL EXISTENCE. SHE IS AN ANCIENT ARCHETYPE OF GREAT MOTHER, KIND BUT SINISTER. SHE EMBODIES THE IDEA OF RECLAIMING MATERNITY AS PART OF FEMINIST EMANCIPATION. STANDING OPPOSITE TO LADY MIDDAY, SHE INDICATES INTERNAL CONFLICT WITHIN THE EMANCIPATION MOVEMENT, WHICH IS THE ABILITY TO MAKE AUTONOMOUS DECISIONS ABOUT ONE'S LIFE
ACRYLIC, SPRAY ON CANVAS
150 X 100 CM
2019
TWO FACES OF FEMINISM:
LADY MIDDAY
LADY MIDDAY IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY IS A DEMON APPEARING IN WHIRLWINDS ARISING DURING HARVEST. IT IS BELIEVED THAT SHE BROUGHT MADNESS UPON PEOPLE WORKING IN THE FIELDS AT NOON. AND WITH A SICKLE, SHE CUTS OFF HEADS OF HER ADMIRERS. SHE REPRESENTS THE SELF-FULFILLMENT OF FEMINIST EMANCIPATION. SHE REJECTS MATERNITY IN FAVOR OF ACHIEVING OTHER GOALS. SHE STANDS IN OPPOSITION TO MOKOSH, INDICATING INTERNAL CONFLICT WITHIN THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT, WHICH IS THE ABILITY TO MAKE INDEPENDENT DECISIONS ABOUT ONE'S LIFE.
ACRYLIC, SPRAY ON CANVAS
150 X 100 CM
2019
ROZHANISTSY
IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY, THOUGHT TO BE A TRINITY OF DEMONS OR GODDESSES, THAT RULE OVER THE DOMAIN OF FATE. THEY WERE BELIEVED TO INHABIT A PALACE OF SUN, AT THE END OF THE WORLD, WHERE THEY WOVE YARNS OF DESTINY. THE THINGS THEY FORETELL CAN NOT BE CHANGED. ROZHANISTSY APPEARED AFTER CHILD'S BIRTH, TO LEAVE ON ITS FOREHEAD AN INVISIBLE MARK OF DETERMINED FUTURE. PEOPLE OFFERED THEM CHILDREN'S HAIR FROM THE FIRST HAIRCUT, AND WELCOMED WITH FOOD. IN PRESENT TIMES, THE FATE THEY WAVED IS A GORDIAN KNOT, INDICATING CHAOTIC REALITIES OF THE CONTEMPORARY. THEY SYMBOLIZE THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE. EACH END OF THE ROPE REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT OUTCOME OF HUMAN FUTURE. THEY DEPICT THE PHENOMENON KNOWN AS A CULTURE OF FEAR, ANTHROPOCENE APATHY, GROWING UNCERTAINTY AND FEAR OF THE FUTURE. FORMALLY, THEY ARE RELATED TO THE KURGAN STEALE MONUMENTS.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
150 X 120 CM
2020
DOLA
AN ANCIENT GODDESS OR TYPE OF TUTELARY DEITY, ASSOCIATED TO FATE. SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A PREDECESSOR OF ROZHANISTY, THAT OVER THE COURSE OF TIME EVOLVED INTO A TRIADIC DEITY OF FATE. SHE WAS BELIEVED TO BE A BLESSING OF GODS, A FORCE GIVEN TO OVERCOME LIFE DIFFICULTIES. INHERITED WITHIN FAMILIES, SHE WAS SOMETIMES BELIEVED TO BE A PERSONIFICATION OF HUMAN FATE. SHE WAS PORTRAYED AS A THREAD, PART OF EMBROIDERY THAT BREAKS, SYMBOLIZING EMOTIONAL FATIGUE, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF TIRING REALITY OF THE PRESENT TIMES, DEEPLY ROOTED IN RADICALIZATION OF SOCIETIES, INTENSIFYING POLARIZATION AND DIFFICULTIES RELATED TO ESTABLISHING DIALOGUE. THE EMBROIDERY IS EXECUTED ON APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD LINEN CANVAS HAND WOVEN BY THE ARTIST'S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.
CROSS-STITCH EMBROIDERY ON LINEN CANVAS
80 X 53 CM
2020
SVAROG
MOST LIKELY A GOD OF HEAVENLY FIRE – THE SUN. SIMILARLY TO MANY OTHER CULTURES, THE SUN IN SLAVIC RELIGION WAS HELD IN SPECIAL REVERENCE, RESULTING IN MANY COMMANDMENTS RELATED TO IT. THE SOLAR DISK WAS THOUGHT TO BE AN EYE OF SVAROG, AND IT WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TO LOOK AT IT. AT SUNRISE, ONE SHOULD GREET IT BOWING, WITH A PRAYER. HE IS BELIEVED TO RULE OVER THE DOMAIN OF FIRE AND WAR. HE IS DEPICTED AS AN UNFORGIVING PASSIVE PARTICIPANT OF ANTHROPOCENE APATHY, A FIRE SCORCHING HEAT FLAMING THE GROUND.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
90 X 80 CM
2020
JOLLY
ONE OF THE WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE A RAINBOW WAS „JOLLY”, FROM THE ONE POINT OF VIEW DISCERN AS A DESIRABLE NATURAL PHENOMENON, ANTICIPATING RAIN, ON THE OTHER AS A MONSTROUS CREATURE, DRAINING WATER FROM NEARBY AQUATIC RESERVOIRS OR CLOUDS. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT IF ONE WILL GO UNDER ITS ARCH, IT IS POSSIBLE TO UNDERGO GENDER TRANSITION. DEPICTED WITH THE SWALLOW. IT PRESENTS A LONGING FOR A THAW IN SOCIAL STRUCTURES RELATED TO TOLERANCE, ANTICIPATING PROGRESSION.
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
120 X 90 CM
2020
MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATION
COMPOSED OF FOUR PAINTINGS MADE IN CMYK COLOR MODEL AND FOUR COMPLEMENTARY ANIMATIONS DESIGNED AS A PHOTOGRAPHIC FILTER MADE IN RGB COLOR MODEL. THE ANIMATED PART OF WORK WAS MAPPED ONTO THE PAINTINGS, AND TOGETHER THEY FUSE IN A COMPLETE UNITY. THE INSTALLATION TELLS A STORY OF WEEVIL – A CREATURE DEVOURING CHILDREN WHO DARE TO TRAMPLE THE GROWING CROPS, WHICH IS CLOSELY RELATED TO A MYTHICAL WOLF DEVOURING CELESTIAL BODIES. ITS JOURNEY BECOMES A METAPHOR OF ESCALATING SOCIAL ANXIETY. EACH PROJECTION REFERS TO A DIFFERENT SPHERE OF HUMAN LIFE, THAT IT HAS IMPACT ON.
THE TWO
THIS WORK TELLS THE STORY OF WEEVIL'S ORIGINS – THE CREATION OF SOCIAL ANXIETY, THAT DEVELOPS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF PROGRESSING SOCIAL POLARIZATION, WITH POSSIBLE ROOTS IN BAD POLITICS, AND ABUSE OF POWER. THE HAMMER – IS AN ATTRIBUTE OF AUTHORITY, IS RELATED TO A TOOL ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAIN GOD IN SLAVIC PANTHEON – PERUN. IT REFERS ALSO TO THE SO-CALLED „KULA” - A TOOL KNOWN IN EARLY SLAVIC SOCIETIES, PERFORMING A LEGISLATIVE FUNCTION. DECISIONS LEAD TO SOCIAL FRACTURE, AND EXTENSIVE CONSEQUENCES AS A RESULT OF ESCALATING FRUSTRATION.
PROJECTION
ANIMATION: AGNIESZKA ZACHARCZUK
SOUND: ALEKSANDRA KONIK
PAINTING:
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
120 X 100 CM
2019
PERUN
THE WORK PORTRAYS THE SECOND STAGE OF WEEVIL'S JOURNEY. IT CHALLENGES THE IDEA OF RELIGION. PERUN IS DESCRIBED AS A DEUS OTIOSUS – IDLE GOD. THE ONE THAT DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH HUMAN DOMAIN AFFAIRS ANYMORE. HERE, PERUN IS BEING IDENTIFIED WITH RELIGION, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF WHICH IS TO ALLEVIATE ANXIETY. HOWEVER, IT TURNS OUT THAT RELIGION NOWADAYS IS DISTANT, UNABLE TO RESPOND TO THE CONTEMPORARY REALITY AND ISSUES AFFLICTING 21st CENTURY. THE WEEVIL IS ELUSIVE, AND ESCAPES ITS WRATH.
PROJECTION
PAINTING:
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
ANIMATION: AGNIESZKA ZACHARCZUK
SOUND: ALEKSANDRA KONIK
110 X 80 CM
2020
RUSALKA
THIS TIME, THE MAIN HERO OF THE STORY, SETTLES DOWN IN A LANDSCAPE OVERWHELMED BY ANXIETY. IT WANDERS THROUGHOUT LAND COVERED WITH WASTE, JUST TO GAZE FROM A DISTANCE AT YET ANOTHER ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE, WHICH SHE PRAYS UPON: SELF-CRITICISM, OR DOUBT, ERUPTING AS A BY-PRODUCT OF CHASING IMPOSSIBLE STANDARDS OF BEAUTY, OR SIMPLY NON-EXISTENT CONCEPT OF „THE PERFECT ONE”. RUSALKA IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY IS A BEAUTIFUL LADY, LIVING ON LAKE SHORES. HERE SHE IS CHALLENGED TO ACCEPT HER OWN FLAWS. DAZZLING, YET UNSATISFIED WITH WHAT SHE SEES, GRADUALLY SHE CHANGES HER BODY, UNABLE TO FIND A WAY OUT OF THE MENTAL PRISON OF MOUNTING EXPECTATIONS.
PROJECTION
PAINTING:
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
ANIMATION: AGNIESZKA ZACHARCZUK
SOUND: ALEKSANDRA KONIK
120 X 90 CM
2020
THE WELL
THE FINAL STAGE OF WEEVIL'S PATH RELATES TO THE IRON BABA'S STORY. A DEMON INHABITING WELLS, WHICH DROWNS CHILDREN WHO STARE INTO ITS DEPTHS. WEEVIL PLUNGE OUT OF IT, REACHING ENORMOUS SIZE. SOCIAL ANXIETY CAN NOT BE STOPPED NOW, IN THE END IT EXPLODES, BEYOND PROJECTION BOUNDARIES, AND PERVADES INTO THE REALITY OF THE SPECTATOR.
PROJECTION
ANIMATION: AGNIESZKA ZACHARCZUK
SOUND: ALEKSANDRA KONIK
PAINTING:
ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
70 X 60 CM
2020