Patrycja Orzechowska

Exhibition title Ciało w formie [Body in the form] outlines main threads of Patrycja Orzechowska’s art: physicality, human and phenomena mutual order, as well as objects’ life-span. Show at Kronika presents artist’s recent works: collages, staged photographs and installations.

In the Kinderturnen collage series, Orzechowska uses photos from German coursebook Gymnastics for children. A miscellany of exercises in photos, displaying the use of gymnastic equipment in a kindergarten (original title Kinderturnen) issued in 1959. Artist orders children images (models in the book were children from the orphanage) into geometrical structures. Some remain purely abstract, while others, quite the contrary, are arranged into specific words like ‘Haus’ or ‘Home’ to indicate seemingly safe and orderly space. Similar to Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen [Scenes from Childhood], references to childhood relate to the sentimental journey into the past but also to the oppressiveness of memories.

In her works, Patrycja Orzechowska refers also to performing arts and cooperates with gymnasts, dancers, and actors. Model in the photo series Homebody, a young woman, is performing yoga asanas set against objects of everyday use (chairs) and domestic space.

Ciało w formie indicates body objectification (our self) in the form of various devices, both material and ideological. Numerous political systems, religions, as well as modernist art trends, have employed in the past, and are still employing seemingly anthropocentric way of visual thinking (Pythagorean mental cliché) and are inserting human figure into entirety forms accepted a priori, represented by geometric figures, crosses, stars or other symbolic structures that serve as controlling tools and ways of suppressing sexuality. At the same time artist picks up a thread of exercise and body training which, among others, constitute symptoms of current fitness dictate, as well as denial of death fear.

In her works, Patrycja Orzechowska aims also at restoration/maintaining life span of objects that lost their functionality. Similarly to old German book (archeology of photography), artist uses in her exhibited installations Szkielety [Skeletons] and Ściana [Wall], old lampshades, as well as used fireworks, while sustaining complete consistency of meaning derived from them: renewed light, flash, explosion, illumination… Last but not least, Szkielety installation, arranged in an old residential space of this institution in Bytom (once owned by Jewish family, Kohns) classifies as one of Kronika activities relating to place identity.