I like walking. However, I avoid concrete and asphalt. For me, the most interesting road is the wild, unplanned one, full of protruding stones, roots or streams running across it. During such trips, I create my works – films and objects. Their main theme is escape from the imaginary world into the tangible and sensual one. Importantly, the existing site has as much impact on the results of my work as I do. I am striving to create a synthesis of the body with the directly experienced landscape. My activities usually happen in the area of Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska, located relatively close to where I live. However, this is not a rule – I feel at home in every remote place. Natural spaces have been continuously “shredded” and limited by human activity. As a result, access to the living space has been closed, not only for animals and plants. The degraded environment affects us, we experience it directly more and more frequently. My works are not just a pushy critique of anthropocentrism. I propose walking as a ritual that allows you to reach the natural perspective of your own body, and to tune yourself in to the ground you are in direct physical contact with while on the road. (Mikołaj Szpaczyński)
Mikołaj Szpaczyński (born 1989) – author of films and objects. A graduate of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice (2017), currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Intermedia of the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow.
The exhibition is featured in the series of presentations showcasing the results of artistic residencies with Elżbieta Jabłońska, held as part of the W788 program.
The project is part of the program The Coffees I Will Not Have, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, from the Fund for Promotion of Culture, and by the City of Szczecin.
