Ubiquitous allergies are not only a hindrance to the immune system; for me they are above all a metaphor—a disturbing symptom of the distance between a person and their environment, which this disease forces. In this distance, there may also lie its source. As one of civilization’s diseases, they evoke reflections that go beyond a simple medical dependency. I translate this situation into the realm of individual feelings of alienation in general and the misfit between the world surrounding us and the idea of respecting nature. I would like the woman in the painting to be able to touch the conscience of those who have treated the words ‘Have dominion over the earth’ too instrumentally and selectively—especially people from our parents’ and grandparents’ generation.

Patryk Staruch