Patrycja Orzechowska

The title of the exhibition given by its author Homebody, can imply a certain interpretation. But maybe the contrary is happening—with the purposeful use of the English term, she welcomes a different analysis? ‘Home’ is simply a home and a ‘body’ is just a body.

The corporeality / structure provides a linking motif for all the exhibited works. The various media employed here allow the artist to exceed the limits of two-dimensional form and fill the tri-dimensional installation with her favourite techniques: photography and collage. The space of the gallery is turned into an interior corresponding to a living space by the use of certain elements, though, it remains a draft of it rather than a replete composition. The structure of the drawing can be recognized in every element of the exhibition: the lampshade frame, the design of the wall constructed from emptied firework boxes, in the layout of the figures and objects depicted in the pictures or in the collages from the “Kinderturnen” series.

The Kinderturnen series consists of works compiled from the photos derived from a randomly discovered manual: Gymnastics for children. A miscellany of exercises in photos, displaying the use of gymnastic equipment in a kindergarten. The original book entitled Kinderturnen was issued in 1959. The silhouettes of children in various gymnastic poses are cut out from the photos (nb German orphans served as models) and placed in the created spaces. The artist orders them, multiplies them, compiles them into geometrical structures giving the impression of tri-dimensional abstract figures made of lines and black circles. Some remain purely abstract, while others, quite the contrary, are arranged into specific words like ‘HOME’ or ‘HAUS’.

In the photo series Homebody Orzechowska replaces the figures of children with a young woman performing complex yoga—originating asanas and locates her in quasi-domestic spaces. These, devoid of any unnecessary elements make it unrecognizable as any particular location. The only pieces of furniture suggesting inhabitance are the ones with the models placed on or in them. The sublime starkness of the shots, the simplicity of the composition and frequently erotic poses of the model could imply some anticipation of fulfilment. However, it is the corporeality of the model limited by the her complex pose and crammed into the drawing that seems to be the central theme of the series.

Also the wall built from empty fireworks boxes could be interpreted as a symbol of limit and separation. The installation and collages alike were compiled by the artist from ready-made objects found by her. Fascinated with the ordered structure of the boxes the artist constructs a stretcher wall, thus creating an exceptionally beautiful design that can be recognized in the Kinderturnen series as well as in the light installation assembled from hundreds of lampshade frames. These wire frames suspended in the air and periodically filled with artificial light lend the whole exhibition a pictorial atmosphere, accentuating the spare colour and emphasizing the impression of spaciousness with the chiaroscuro effect.

In spite of the variety of the media used by the artist, cramming, squeezing and suspending techniques, her design of the space remains very deliberate and specific. Due to the elements employed—lamps and furniture—it is possible to decipher her interpretation of ‘home’, since however structured a home may seem, it remains a space open to be filled and awaiting its embodiment.