Anna Markowska, Marta Smolińska

jury statement

★
Poland /// Polen
★

[My Forms Are the Successive Skins I Take Off] is a lovely example of calm, unrushed design with pacing that allows works to reveal themselves gradually; printed on fragile, beautiful ordinary paper that continually reminds us of the work’s (and our own) materiality.

The exhibition characterized in the present catalogue focuses on the works by Magdalena Abakanowicz dealing with the theme of the manlike figure in sculpture. We are confronted with fragments of silhouettes, creating the impression that we are brought face to face with something human – feeling somehow incomplete. Abakanowicz revolutionised artistic weaving by using this technique to create three-dimensional forms with dyed sisal. This typical choice of material by the sculptor is reproduced in a fabulous way by the photographs. Textile surfaces catch the eye. One is tempted to touch them. The catalogue does not allow you to feel the figures themselves, yet the surface of the paper reflects an adequate tactility.

The catalogue’s design provides a minimalist, almost austere background for the artworks on display. A carefully considered concept and layout of the publication. The aura of the headless figurines is also clearly perceptible even throughout the physical book. The motifs have an immense power that can work through the conditions in the publication. The motifs, which are full bleed, were not constricted by the design.

A design framework filled with facts accompanies the emotional exhibits.