The series of paintings “Love is Love” was created in the years 2016-2020. An important stimulus that influenced me were the changes in the social and political situation in Poland after the right-wing took power. In 2016, there were nationwide demonstrations in defence of women’s rights – the fight for the right to legal abortion in the case of rape or threatened pregnancy.
The current government and Polish Catholic Church are spiritus movens in sanctioning human rights violations, the destruction of nature, animal cruelty, and promoting nationalist movements and their vision of society. In the apparent silence of the consumer EU country, there is a broadly understood deconstruction of democracy and a systemic stigmatization of minority groups that do not fit the nationalist pattern.
The year 2020 brought sharpening of homophobic movements in Poland on a huge scale. From January 2020 so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’ cover about 30% of the country.*
I do not want to talk about politics. But I feel a strong need to manifest my inner shout that I do not agree to such changes. I want sustainable development, respect for nature, respect for animal rights and a systemic guarantee of safety and respect for every person.
In deep sadness that the basic right of people to love another person, to self-determination about themselves and their lives is so deeply broken, I tried to capture the elusive essence of love. Its freedom, uniqueness, beauty, delicacy and strength at the same time.
Because what is love? Isn’t it the meaning of life? Otherwise, what are we living for?
*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT-free_zone
