The bench makes us more human

51°21’57.4”N 21°40’15.0”E – this is where Happiness begins. Or ends. It all depends on from which side you reach it.

Happiness is situated between Injustice and Comfort.

Happiness is where my grandfather was born.

Happiness, Injustice and Comfort are actually the names of three small Polish villages in Mazovia: Szczęście, Krzywda and Wygoda, respectively. Located close to one another, they form a sort of Bermuda triangle.

I have returned to the village of my ancestors. On the basis of my conversations with its inhabitants, I created a series of paintings.

Benches have become a passkey phenomenon. Even several years ago they formed a pillar of the social life of the village, and today they have practically vanished from rural space.
In my works I intentionally avoid the categories of folklore and folk art. All of this is aimed at making my paintings a genuine representation of Szczęście, without any romanticisation or even exoticisation of rural communities.

I call benches a transit place – a space at the meeting point of two spheres, among others the public and private sphere.

Benches were situated in between also because of their (in)visibility. They were noticed only for their utility potential, which was always mediated by the presence of the human being. Therefore, my minor degree is entitled: The bench makes us more human. However, enclosed in a glass case, it foreshadows a change in the status of the thing, which from a tool turns into an artifact of special value.