MARYNA.TV was here

MARYNA.TV was here
Solo show Maryna Tomaszewska
15.03.2024 – 10.04.2024
curated by: Alexandra Mocan, Alexandru Muraru, Matei Toşa
Photos: Roland Váczi

The term “vanitas” – derived from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes – is an umbrella for a variety of meanings, from nothingness to radical complacency. It’s also a genre of art that uses symbolism in still life to show the transience of life, the futility of pleasure and the certainty of death. In the space between death and celebration lies our life, yet for most the nature of what is to come is deeply disturbing, and this notion is the axis of the presented exhibition.

The affirmation of temporality (with its hedonistic economic goals) clashed with the grim reality of death can be found in Maryna Tomaszewska’s newest objects. Inspired by the irony that lies at the intersection of the above phenomena, the artist engages in experiments with various symbols of hedonism, leisure, pleasure, death and passing. Within the MATCA show, Tomaszewska’s approach to discussing temporality remains detached from her personal experiences, although she has previously addressed the subject of loss and mourning. Last year’s “Blue Ocean Theory” exhibition at Stroboscope* (Warsaw) was a reworking of the intimate and painful experience of the death of a loved one. Now these personal motivations are juxtaposed with post-internet, humor, anti-aesthetics, feminism or pop culture.

Maryna.TV is an ongoing project, in which the artist creates various objects inspired by influencer culture, this time correlating them with the topic of death. While baroque vanitas paintings depict luxury goods or organic soon-to-be-perished matter, Tomaszewska offers a line of products using quotidian objects. The works on display are playful yet disturbing: the experience of the exhibition can be compared to flipping a coin with the result of life or death.

Using text and objects that create a parallel between the symbolic nature of Baroque art and items that are representative of fast fashion, the artist indirectly questions the life of the object itself. On a deeper level, the works deal with existential doubts and how we approach them.