Makeshift Great Poland, 2021

• painting

The story draws on my first-hand experience of living in a rural community. I base my research on conversations with the locals and local legends. I sometimes refer to my memories, which have become distorted and acquired new meanings over time. In a system built on unequal access to resources, vernacular culture, i.e. one focused on locality and nativeness, can be viewed as a response to a sense of alienation and an attempt to adapt to a world that is predominantly unfamiliar. This work is the result of my reflection on how necessity becomes the mother of invention. It documents elements that make up Poland’s landscape, which is over 93% rural. Making a reference to unconventional solutions, the base of my painting is a material originally intended for the production of advertising banners. I appropriate this object and use it against its intended purpose, just like in many homes, dill is frozen in an ice-cream package. On the other hand, banner-like materials can often be found in the depths of rural farms, where they are pragmatically used to order and organise space.