Isolation

3 Mar

Written By Quinn

Kasia Derwinska’s art reminds me of the work of Leszek Bujnowski. Kasia has an awful lot of images to look through, but I didn’t even get off the first page before realising she was able to pull the viewer into a place of quiet. However, it’s not because of her choice of subject matter. She evokes a sense of isolation in her pictures through her use of wide open spaces and tone. This always helps to create the right kind of headspace to engage in contemplation.

The difficulty I have is choosing which images to write about because there are so many that strike a chord. So, I’ve decided to use an old tarot spread method and go with a past, present, and potential future theme, except I get to see what I’m picking beforehand. We’re talking resonance here. Despite deciding to pick three, I ended up with eight and didn’t stick to my self-imposed theme at all.

For a memory of ye olde past, I begin with The Umbilical Cord. It wasn’t just my parents I was able to cut myself free from; this was a strong theme for me throughout my early adult life. Sometimes, the situation we’re in can provide a helping hand when cutting free from people holding us back from growth. Many conditions can force us to examine our invisible connections with other people: leaving home for university, changing jobs, or moving out of the area. These situations provide a more natural condition to reclaim some individual freedom. The older we get, the more likely this will apply to people we are in a close relationship with; boss, lover, or co-worker. We form these ties, and sometimes they become restricting rather than supportive. The key here is whether the association belongs to the former or latter. Is it time to pull out those scissors? Interestingly, the hand doesn’t belong to either of the people shown. To me, that says the cut will originate from an external source. It may be worth noting that even after the line between them has been severed, they are free to step closer or move further apart.

I found the second memory in Turtle Carapace, and with the original posting, Kasia had given a quote:

Nobody can hurt me without my permission - Mahatma Gandhi

I remember making frequent jokes about my bubble. I was more than aware that I lived in one and worked hard to avoid sharp objects and other things that might have caused it to burst. The problem is, anybody and everybody will burst your bubble if they get close enough. Unless you’re happy to be permanently isolated from touch, you will have to take a risk now and then. My bubble wasn’t so much a defence against hurt from individual people. The harsh reality of the sheer volume of fakery and bullshit in others appeared so prolific once a step was taken outside my front door. Is it true that nobody can hurt me without my permission? I think it’s an excellent quote if you need to bolster your confidence if you’re in a shitty relationship or job. But ultimately? Factually? It is most definitely not true. The bubble, as unreal as it is, offers a place of inner safety. A psychic bolt-hole to protect against other people intruding on your vulnerability. I’m sure everyone must have one, but some of us need to spend more time in it than others.

How To Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later (below left) is a curious piece of work. I wonder if there isn’t a touch of satire here because building a structure from cards is hardly likely to survive two hours, let alone two days. To me, this image speaks of taking a chance, of playing a game, and the umbrella offers enough protection if everything should come tumbling down. The joker is visible, which could further suggest that there is indeed a game in play. I like the concept and imagine it will resonate with many.

How To Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later (click to enlarge)

Man Is The Only Animal That Trips Over The Same Rock Twice (click to enlarge)

Man Is The Only Animal That Trips Over The Same Rock Twice (above right). And then there are rocks. A persistent personal theme, but I felt it most strongly back in 2013 when I had an enormous boulder as a cover photo over on G+. This image gives us the Sisyphean-sized boulder, a man with an umbrella, a dry riverbed, and what looks like a crow or a raven. How could I not be drawn to this? Is there a hint of a lucky escape? The umbrella would have offered no protection should that rock have fallen over the man’s head. Again, the title throws me off a little because there’s no chance of tripping over that thing it’s huge. So what is the message here?

The image to the right is titled Pride and Prejudice. Kasia posted another appropriate quote: All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride. - Sophocles. For me, the bridge in Pride and Prejudice represents a place where the past merges with the present. The quote suggests it could be about crossing a bridge to repair something. Traditional quotes have us building bridges rather than crossing them after a disagreement. But, I see no signs of any tools here. The two figures on either side reinforce the theme of a need for someone to make a move. The bridge may not be sturdy enough for them to meet in the middle, which is what would be fair. Yet the quote makes it clear that pride will have to be swallowed by at least one or the other for that connection to occur. It seems to represent a reality of life that situations aren’t always fair. In those instances, someone will have to step up to the plate at the cost of their own personal glory. Either way, there is a price to pay; whoever gets to stand still and wait has chosen to be seen as the lesser man by not sacrificing his pride. But, the other has to make the steps knowing fairness has not been maintained.

I am nearly always intrigued by the Grim Reaper’s presence in an image. In and I Promise Not To Love You Till Death Do Us Part, we see the old man himself with his all-too-familiar-scythe and a couple standing on barren land. This image broadly speaks for itself; nothing fertile is growing, and the couple is facing death. Kasia commented under the title: promises are only as strong as the person who gives them. The title suggests this was always a part of the deal anyway. The comment she made underneath offers a twist; will the promise be kept, or will it be broken? Or is it suggesting the promise has already been broken?

and I Promise Not To Love You Till Death Do Us Part (click to enlarge)

Life Is Not A Game (above right). I chose this image based purely on the connection to my last post. It contained a boat which had landed on a chessboard. Here we have two oversized chess pieces dwarf the human figure standing on the board. Is there a suggestion that any move is impossible, the pieces are too big to shift by human hand alone? In saying that Life Is Not A Game, does it mean it doesn’t matter how big the pieces are because we’re not playing anyway? Or does it represent a fear of making decisions that appear to be a hundred times bigger than what they are in reality?

Life is A Matter of Choices (click to enlarge)

How can we ever really know what the future holds? The final image, Life Is A Matter of Choices, fits well with my perspective on life. I think we can be free to roll the dice but have no control over how they land. Kasia Derwinska has many images that show cards and dice. I think she probably sees all choices as a gamble but is prepared to take the risk anyway. As with the oversized chess pieces, are we seeing something being made bigger than what it is in reality? Are the chances we take blown out of all proportion to their actual size? Is it worse if we have an over-active imagination? The woman sitting on the dice looks bereft, suggesting they maybe didn’t land as she’d hoped. Or perhaps she didn’t have a hand in it at all. Maybe fate or some supernatural entity just plonked her down where she now sits? An intriguing image that provokes many questions. A more than appropriate piece to look at when thinking about the reality of choices.

Kasia Derwinska has recently published a book about her work for the last three years; find the details on her website or her Facebook page.

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