The starting point of the exhibition is a series of paintings and objects whose protagonists are cryptid – beings not (yet?) recognized by academic science, semi-legendary creatures with devoted followers and seekers. The famous Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster exist within the collective imagination—they are present, though ephemeral and elusive.
They function through the image: once known and exploited by popular culture, they become so deeply embedded in the world that they are almost present within it. The phenomenon of cryptozoology led me toward further reflections on the power of representation, the significance of the image, and its capacity to constitute beings. The search for answers in alternative visions of reality—far removed from rational science—seems to be a natural escape from an uncertain post-pandemic world, with war lurking around the corner and a looming climate crisis. The catastrophe for which our civilizational drive, grounded in modern science, is responsible may perhaps only be overcome by something situated at its very opposite. At least, this is how flat-earthers and seekers of reptilians, people aligned with the Age of Aquarius, seem to perceive the world. Cryptids are also a source of fascination, but equally of fear of the unknown—an expression of the human impulse to conquer and appropriate, and of our inherent desire to possess and catalogue. The most prevalent figure in the series—the hominid, known as Bigfoot, Sasquatch, or Yeti—is also a figure of the ancestor, the primordial father and mother of humanity.
It is difficult to doubt that at the root of contemporary crises—from climate catastrophe to armed conflict—lies the very structure of our culture: a civilization based on the need for constant development and broadly understood colonization. In search of a safe place in time, we may retreat across successive centuries, yet it will always turn out that our culture functions in a similar way: we experience inequality, exploitation, and violence. Following this path, we move back to a time before commodity exchange, before the idea of ownership, before the necessity of delineating territorial boundaries. Our ancestors, as well as the heroes of legends and myths, operate within a different paradigm.
>>>>MCSW Elektrownia Exhibition views and opening
>>>>Finnisage video
>>>>Radom Exhibition Catalogue