Parasigns

The work was described as ‘objects, scattered project’, and probably this succinct phrase – apart from photographic material – gives the best idea of its character.
The simplicity of these objects was so striking that it may be safely assumed that a careless viewer might have failed to register them at all. They were situated in different places and mimicked real road signs, and it was only their distortion, as if caused by the same filter of graphic software, that questioned the reality of all their surroundings. They seemed to be asking, ‘Have I actually walked away from my computer? Is it certainly the right reality? Is our life real, or are we players in some virtual game?’.
The signs were located in the immediate proximity of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Wrocław, where a legendary strike was held in the early 1980s. During that strike, a large inscription was hung in the hall and read: “It is all happening under water”. When looking at Joanna Jopkiewicz and Paweł Borkowski’s objects, this phrase still seems relevant.

> Paweł Jarodzki

 

photo: Justyna Fedec