Chapter 1: Anna Orłowska

In her work Pompier, Muck, Socrococo, 2019, the Polish artist Anna Orłowska has photographed stately homes in Poland. In doing so, she takes up the contradiction of the historical uses of these buildings: after their nationalization, the monumental stately homes were in clear opposition to the interests of the Poletariat and thus led to their decay.
Anna Orłowska uses the ostentatious décor in the palaces and castles as surface references in her room installations and comes to a new interpretation: the black leather of the sofa rather associates an erotic setting and the heavy red velvet curtains a theatrical ambience. In contrast, the black telephone seems like a link to the socialist past.
The showcase work 'Effortless Exercise' also negotiates the surface of the material, which was applied to the picture as a thin layer of wax. By heating the showcase, the wax liquefies and allows only irregular views of the motif, the stage.

The historical quotation