BWA Contemporary Art Gallery in Katowice

“‘Scuff Mark on an Eyelid’ is about the ones who can no longer function according to the old rules because of the disturbing images that interfere with their perception of the world, having left irremovable scars in their field of vision. ‘We are all bound with the same piece of twine. I would say it is melancholy, which stands for a certain attitude towards reality. I do not mean a manner of behaving, rather a philosophy of life, whereby one takes a withdrawn stance, distancing oneself from it all, like an observer or intellectual who is prepared for everything, including all the cruelty and brutality of this world. They are not drawn into conflicts; instead, they register them in a dispassionate manner, being well aware of their helplessness in the situation.’1”
Marta Lisok

1 Marek Zieliński, interviewed by Marta Odziomek, ‘Ars Cameralis: Łączy nas melancholia’, 2 November 2016, http://cojestgrane24.wyborcza.pl/cjg24/1,13,20924140,0,ARS-CAMERALIS-Laczy-nasmelancholia.html, (accessed 6 December 2016).

“(…) The exhibition ‘Scuff Mark on an Eyelid’ relates to the issue of the previously mentioned new aesthetics, invoking the tragic events. It is also an attempt to find bearings in the new reality, which has become really difficult to define despite the availability of the numerous intellectual tools. Things keep eluding both the linguistic and visual descriptions. Something can be felt, yet it is difficult to be unambiguously explained. In this context, one is faced with a very pertinent question — how much could we try and define, as truly as possible, that which we can see and perceive? And how can we find our bearings in all this? (…)

The exhibition corresponds with the worldwide discussions on the meaning of life in the world ridden with uncertainty, wars and terrorism. The much desired stability and assurance are now in short supply. Looking out for a kind of a safety valve in this heterogenous, utterly chaotic and instable reality, Jürgen Habermas calls for trust, which could still develop in everyday communication, because it is only trust has the power to influence the political culture.”
Zuzanna Sokołowska

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