Untitled

Ewa Zwarycz’s project refers to the former function of the Wallenberg-Pachaly palace, which in the years 1945–2013 was one of the edifices of the University Library. The publication prepared for the Review contains excerpts from texts from the fields of sociology, culture, art and politics by theorists such as Michel Foucault, Zygmund Bauman, Karl Marx, Jean Boudrillard, Umberto Eco or Susan Sontag. They comment on socio- cultural changes and their dependence on politics and economy in the previous century. The material used by the artist (transparent film) makes it difficult to read the words – the text becomes blurred and turns into “a kaleidoscope of meanings.” Zwarycz’s work offers a reflection on the deluge of information. Due to the universal popularity of the Internet, accessing knowledge and information is faster and simpler than ever before, which seemingly makes the institution of the library archaic and obsolete. However, the Internet and the media are unreliable sources – the information may be false or incomplete. Depending on the source, interpretation, or the current discourse, evaluating its merits could lead to very different conclusions.

photo: Wojciech Chrubasik