Ariadne

In the past, hair was identified with the soul, and ritual haircutting served as a method of transformation. In this exhibition, hair becomes both the subject and a tool for measuring time—a medium through which the forms of corporeal coexistence are shaped. It delineates the boundaries of our physical existence, while its hybrid tangles capture frozen reflections of emotional states and passions.

Ariadne revolves around the themes of estrangement and alienation. It draws inspiration from the ritual haircutting that marks the transformation of seven-year-old boys into men—a process that shifts their mental outlook. The series reflects a sense of emigration and the entangled, displaced identities of objects and people. Emigration is portrayed not merely as a state of affairs but as a state of mind, reminding us that something as natural and integral as hair is also a product of time.

Here, hair functions as the framework of life—whether as a real or fictional medium for shaping rituals, life events, and modes of coexistence—defining the limits of our everyday carnality. Moreover, it reinforces and represents a diverse spectrum of cultural backgrounds and emotional states, forming an ornament that connects us to our roots in the search for identity.

The exhibition is set against a white backdrop, with the Apricot presented as a quintessential white cube. Dark, saturated tangles provide the only accents, positioned centrally in the images so that they assume the form of a sign. Frozen in stillness, they evoke the impression of a sacred space.

Curators:
Paulina Latham, Roman Lewandowski, Miroslava Urbanowa, Christofer Weiss, Lena Wichierkiewicz

Presented at:
Baltic Contemporary Art Gallery, Słupsk
Apricot Gallery, Rag Factory, London
Loft Acht Gallery, Vienna
Kunstraum B, Kiel
Flying Gallery Foundation, Warsaw