Planaria
03.10.2024 - 03.11.2024
Coordination: Klaudia Ptasińska-Wajda, Aleksandra Sikora
We kindly inform you that the projection displayed at the exhibition lasts 10 minutes. Warning: it may contain a sensitive content.
Planaria by Yuriko Sasaoka is an art installation drawing on the tradition of trompe-l'œil painting, taking the viewer into a three-dimensional world of illusion. It brings to mind the settings of David Lynch films, filled with a sense of anxiety, while combining elements of dark humour with a plethora of symbols and puzzles. In a world where meanings are liquid and undergo ongoing change, the main component of the installation – fish heads with human bodies dressed in folk costumes of various cultures – become an embodiment of the death forces of nature.
The installation piece represents the moment of celebrating the birth of life and death, highlighting the cycle of rebirth and renewal as well as faith in the power of the human spirit and the possibility of change. In the scene in which humanoid figures with fish heads experience violence, there is no room for grief but it is rather a dynamic act of crossing the boundary lines of life and death, an act full of energy and vitality.
Yuriko Sasaoka found inspiration for this installation project while in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when her attention was drawn to the expression of the ‘faces’ of the fish that she ate every day. Intrigued by their diversity, she decided to endow these beings with a new meaning, by including them in her art practice.
Through this installation, Sasaoka encourages us to reflect on our approach to life and relations with other beings. Her work touches on the issues of asymmetry between man and nature, and also addresses the challenges that an individual faces in society. The eponymous Planaria – an organism capable of regeneration – becomes a symbol of strength and endurance, reminding us of our ability to reclaim our own being irrespective of how many times we are put to the test.
With tremendous visual power, Yuriko Sasaoka compels us to confront the reality in which we live, where we take the lives of other creatures. Her work not only points to the asymmetry between man and other beings but also makes us ponder on a person’s position in a society that strives to subordinate the individual. The planaria – an organism capable of regeneration – symbolises the enduring capability of rebirth and tremendous strength of the individual, able to come back irrespective of how many times he or she is ‘annihilated’ by society.
Sasaoka forces us to reflect on our own existence and relationship with the world around us, pointing our attention to the powers of regeneration and rebirth that are present in nature and in ourselves.
Planaria by Yuriko Sasaoka is an art installation drawing on the tradition of trompe-l'œil painting, taking the viewer into a three-dimensional world of illusion. It brings to mind the settings of David Lynch films, filled with a sense of anxiety, while combining elements of dark humour with a plethora of symbols and puzzles. In a world where meanings are liquid and undergo ongoing change, the main component of the installation – fish heads with human bodies dressed in folk costumes of various cultures – become an embodiment of the death forces of nature.
The installation piece represents the moment of celebrating the birth of life and death, highlighting the cycle of rebirth and renewal as well as faith in the power of the human spirit and the possibility of change. In the scene in which humanoid figures with fish heads experience violence, there is no room for grief but it is rather a dynamic act of crossing the boundary lines of life and death, an act full of energy and vitality.
Yuriko Sasaoka found inspiration for this installation project while in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when her attention was drawn to the expression of the ‘faces’ of the fish that she ate every day. Intrigued by their diversity, she decided to endow these beings with a new meaning, by including them in her art practice.
Through this installation, Sasaoka encourages us to reflect on our approach to life and relations with other beings. Her work touches on the issues of asymmetry between man and nature, and also addresses the challenges that an individual faces in society. The eponymous Planaria – an organism capable of regeneration – becomes a symbol of strength and endurance, reminding us of our ability to reclaim our own being irrespective of how many times we are put to the test.
With tremendous visual power, Yuriko Sasaoka compels us to confront the reality in which we live, where we take the lives of other creatures. Her work not only points to the asymmetry between man and other beings but also makes us ponder on a person’s position in a society that strives to subordinate the individual. The planaria – an organism capable of regeneration – symbolises the enduring capability of rebirth and tremendous strength of the individual, able to come back irrespective of how many times he or she is ‘annihilated’ by society.
Sasaoka forces us to reflect on our own existence and relationship with the world around us, pointing our attention to the powers of regeneration and rebirth that are present in nature and in ourselves.