saliva.live | The Curiosity
Untitled
The work of Constantin Brâncuși is central to the development of contemporary sculptural practice and constitutes a point of reference from which — as Okoński himself states — one cannot escape. The modernist axis mundi, with its gravity and sanctity, its refinement and the fragile strength of masculine eminence, is truncated and crowned with a […]
Ptak 1 (Bird 1)
A dead bird made of human bones. A coat of arms cast from melted beer cans. Memento Mori. In the eighteenth century, ossuary chapels filled with intricate constructions of human bones became important landmarks on Europe’s penitential and artistic map. Places such as the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora and the Chapel of Skulls in […]
Chłopka (Peasant Woman)
An axial composition that at first glance resembles a kind of abstract, geometric pendulum. On closer inspection, we discern in turn sickle-ribs and stone vertebrae. At the crown of the enamelled basin rests a small marble egg. A female figure. Goddess and demon. The archetypal Polish Mother, the Slavic Mokosh, yet also the południca — […]
Stołki (Stools)
A sculpture depicting two stools, whose heavy, squat form and the material employed — evocative of Polish postmodern gravestones — is set against the modesty and commonplaceness of a functional piece of furniture. The work makes an ironic reference to post-transformation poverty with its yearning for modernity and opulence. The piece of furniture itself also […]
Źródło (Source)
A small, two-element sculpture resembling a kind of garden sundial or miniature fountain. Constructed from two intersecting forms: a marble tray and an alabaster, pearl-inlaid “sausage.” An ironic-erotic composition, distinguished by refined humour and a playful game of associations. The pearls become simultaneously a symbol of semen and a physical manifestation of the suffering of […]
Uranos
The sculpture references the story of Aphrodite’s birth as described by Hesiod in the Theogony. The genitals of Uranus, severed by Cronus’s sickle at Gaia’s instigation, fell into the sea, and from the white foam surrounding them the goddess of beauty emerged. Set into a male head carved from white Pińczów limestone is a conch […]
Nasienie (Seed)
A small work consisting of four marble tiles bearing rye ears and natural pearls. The artist employs minimalist means of expression, building tensions between the geometric form and permanence of marble and the natural beauty of the pearls and ears of grain. The veining of the marble recalls furrows of ploughed earth, yielding harvests of […]
Igła II (Needle II)
An oversized marble needle with a single pearl, suspended in a precarious state of equilibrium between stability and collapse. An object combining both phallic and vaginal elements simultaneously. The needle — a tool associated with women’s work, capable of drawing blood yet unsuited for use as a weapon — is, through enlargement, transformed into a […]
Panna młoda (Bride)
Formally, the work is built upon the contrast between a large block of white marble inlaid with natural pearls and the delicate structure of a wedding dress. The sculpture is a kind of totemic fetish, shamelessly protruding from a coquettishly draped garment. The gesture of the artist dressing the sculpture is of particular significance here, […]
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