Rush

A woman’s handbag carelessly thrown on the washbasin revealed its contents, which alongside a lipstick, face powder, car keys and telephone included an impressive set of pills and sedatives. In Uczkiewicz’s installation under the title Rush, attributes of luxury and elegance were mixed up with dozens of medicine bottles and tablets. The leather handbag became here a symbol of a wealthy and successful woman, whose seemingly perfect life turned out to be but a superficial image, propped up from the inside by drugs and dietary supplements. In their everyday struggle to meet the expectations of achieving success in different spheres of life, at home and in the workplace, contemporary women fall back on drugs as their weapon against exhaustion, depression and stress. Social pressure or own ambition make it impossible to admit to a defeat, which results in health being the necessary sacrifice. Daily rush makes it impossible to relax and regenerate the body, and the illusion of being in control only serves to mask tiredness and powerlessness.

> Małgorzata Miśniakiewicz

photo: Justyna Fedec