On March 30 the gal­lery will be closed



“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




Paulina Stasik
Digesting

2022

oil on canvas

200 × 180 cm