A Greenish-yellow Cloud Is Drifting Towards Us

  • photographic installation
  • 2021

The work was inspired by the tragic biography of Clara Immerwahr (1870–1915), a chemist from Wrocław, who committed suicide by shooting herself in the chest with a pistol belonging to her husband Fritz Haber (1868–1934). It is believed that she did so after hearing the news that the war gases invented by Haber had been used during the Second Battle of Ypres. Researchers of the Haber family history often argue over the reasons for the suicidal deaths of Clara Immerwahr and her granddaughter Claire Haber. Additional controversy is provoked by the lack of unambiguous evidence, such as farewell letters or diaries. Due to the involvement of Fritz Haber in the development of chemical weapons and the scientific work of both women, their deaths are interpreted as a radical act of protest against the criminal warfare. Clara Immerwahr, whose life is commemorated by a plaque on a building of the University of Wrocław, has become one of the most important symbols of pacifism. In Ogrodzka’s work, the artist wonders whether it is possible to satisfactorily explain the motivation of people whose suicide is perceived as a political act. Based on historical sources and the accounts of the few witnesses, she interprets the biographies of both women as we would like to see them, so that the act of radical self-annihilation can be considered heroic. The artist also asks the question: Is a woman who is close to a person responsible for hostilities able to effectively protest against them?

The work was created thanks to the artistic scholarship of the Mayor of Wrocław.

Iwona Ogrodzka
Portret Friza Habera / Portrait of Friz Haber
2020

Iwona Ogrodzka
Dla mojej drogiej żony dr Clary Haber w podzięce za jej cichą współpracę / To my dear wife Clara Haber, Ph.D., in gratitude for her silent co-operation

Iwona Ogrodzka
Kwiaty Clary, fotografia cyfrowa / Clara’s flowers
2021

Iwona Ogrodzka
Ministerstwo ds. Samotności / The ministry of loneliness
2021

Iwona Ogrodzka
Ministerstwo ds. Samotności 2 / The ministry of loneliness 2
2021