“When I think of stones I have before my eyes mountain boulders and river pebbles. I imagine how many years it took nature to form them. I like their roughness and hues of grey-blue-green. They are often matte and dull in shape.
Under the theory of microcosm and macrocosm, the image of the body is only a fragment of the image of the world. Stones are the cosmic analogue to human bones. Bones are nothing but the scaffolding of the body, and serve a function similar to stones for the earth. ‘Drop by drop, a stone wears away’—stones are a reminder of effort and a long, drawn-out process.
Digestion contains many anthropomorphic codes. We refer to ‘stones in the belly’ or say that ‘a stone got caught in my throat’ when we are thinking of something unbearable or frightening. In the painting, stones are found in the oesophagus and the intestines. Digestion is impossible, deposits in the intestines have accumulated over many years. The liver is like lava, the lungs are a pond, and the heart is filled with the memory of lovers. The organism may be dysfunctional, but something constantly enters the heroine’s mouth and breaks through the stones in the oesophagus. It’s an afterimage of the city with a glow of lights above it.
The grid of streets, lights in the windows, form a harmonious puzzle—the city is throbbing with life. Orange impulses penetrate the body and reign within it. The bright glow of light causes insomnia for many. Whether day or night, summer or winter, light stimulates productivity. The light grid also brings to mind the global network to which we are connected. It carries information, images, notifications, good and bad news.
On the other hand, the forest passes through the ear, but it is not entirely clear whether it is entering or exiting. It is dark, more modest than the city, and does not infect the body.
You would like to turn off the glow of light so it doesn’t penetrate the body, but there is no such possibility. It’s not all up to you.”
Paulina Stasik