Krzysztof
Stępniewski

The installation consists of two parts. Three short panoramic stories are the first of them. They show stereotypical behaviours attributed to men in a caricatured fashion. Along with the development of each story, these stereotypes become processed, leading smoothly to the final that is not obvious according to established cultural norms. Making use of the purely visual narration, I point out how we perceive situations and behaviours on the basis of a superficial glance and to what extent our opinion is inseparably influenced by stereotypes. Here I express my objection to the conservative image of the “real man” and the related attitudes of aggression, violence and intolerance. In the foreground, in contrast to black-and-white prints in the background, there is a series of oil paintings. Fragments of a naked body and face (often de-constructed) presented in them are anonymous, free of norms and stereotypes of gender-based behaviours. I wanted them to serve as a form of dream encouraging meditation and breath in separation from prejudices.

This work is a group of drawings created as a minor degree. They present a nude man assuming various poses and gestures. The organic and studied parts of the body, face and drapery emerge out of the raw surface, looking as if they were frozen in motion. The fragmentary way of presenting bodies in my works has its source in fascination with de-completed artistic sculptures, as well as unfinished Renaissance paintings and sculptures. The lines forming a grid that are visible on plates function as a sort of scaffold on which I build my figures.