AUTOBIOGRAPHY WITHOUT FACTS
Mixed media / 2016-in progress
Today is the 40th day since the death of my grandfather. But I always called him “Dzied”,
and he didn’t mind. I was not a very courteous and amiable granddaughter.
But my grandfather accepted and didn't take offense.
He has always been an essential part of my life, and it seemed like it would be forever.
Constancy, which seemed immutable.
and he didn’t mind. I was not a very courteous and amiable granddaughter.
But my grandfather accepted and didn't take offense.
He has always been an essential part of my life, and it seemed like it would be forever.
Constancy, which seemed immutable.
My grandfather was the only living witness of the Second World War among my family members.
First, his father, an ordinary man, who grazed cows in the village, was accused as a "Polish spy"
and executed by the Soviet authorities in 1938.
Two older brothers died, the sister was burned by the Nazis.
The mother, who was driven away to Germany during the war,
after returning home was seriously ill and did not live long.
First, his father, an ordinary man, who grazed cows in the village, was accused as a "Polish spy"
and executed by the Soviet authorities in 1938.
Two older brothers died, the sister was burned by the Nazis.
The mother, who was driven away to Germany during the war,
after returning home was seriously ill and did not live long.
The grandfather survived along with his other brother and, in general,
they lived a fairly long life, which was rather hard than happy.
There were too many tragedies and traumas. I always underestimated these
facts of his biography, they seemed to me too vague and distant,
unreal and unimaginable, like myths and legends.
My grandfather’s death almost coincided with the Russian full-scale
invasion of Ukraine.
I can't imagine how he would take the current reality.
Perhaps he was lucky, as he had dementia.
they lived a fairly long life, which was rather hard than happy.
There were too many tragedies and traumas. I always underestimated these
facts of his biography, they seemed to me too vague and distant,
unreal and unimaginable, like myths and legends.
My grandfather’s death almost coincided with the Russian full-scale
invasion of Ukraine.
I can't imagine how he would take the current reality.
Perhaps he was lucky, as he had dementia.
Along with the loss, I realized that the former life ended forever and inevitably.
The ‘old world’ somewhere still continues to exist like a zombie or a vampire.
But it’s doomed to fall.
It is obvious that everything will be rebuilt and formed anew.
Living through these irreversible transformations and changes is certainly a traumatic and painful experience.
It will be an inevitable, long process.
The ‘old world’ somewhere still continues to exist like a zombie or a vampire.
But it’s doomed to fall.
It is obvious that everything will be rebuilt and formed anew.
Living through these irreversible transformations and changes is certainly a traumatic and painful experience.
It will be an inevitable, long process.
While working on this series, I was thinking about the lost, disappearing
connections between people, how little I know about those who surround me,
how insufficient this knowledge is.
This is completely fragmentary information.
connections between people, how little I know about those who surround me,
how insufficient this knowledge is.
This is completely fragmentary information.
More and more connections are being lost, more and more people
have been dispersing around the world, everything seems to be
slipping away, and you don’t have time to catch it.
Time is never enough. To learn, to study thoroughly, to remember and save.
have been dispersing around the world, everything seems to be
slipping away, and you don’t have time to catch it.
Time is never enough. To learn, to study thoroughly, to remember and save.
I was also thinking about the feeling that had often haunted me
throughout my life - about being lost and restless, about finding my place,
about the sensation that you’re drifting somewhere, never reaching the final
goal, as if you’re stuck in a transit zone between the old world and
something completely new, unknown and inexplicable.
throughout my life - about being lost and restless, about finding my place,
about the sensation that you’re drifting somewhere, never reaching the final
goal, as if you’re stuck in a transit zone between the old world and
something completely new, unknown and inexplicable.
This work is about the fragility of time, the unreliability of memory, about
how our memories are erased, leaving blurred spots,
flash and disappear, turning into vague, ghostly and elusive images.
Masha Svyatogor / 15.04.2022
WHEN THE SUN IS LOW — THE SHADOWS ARE LONG
Group exhibition | Curator: Anna Karpenko
Arsenal Gallery, Białystok, PL
1 April - 13 May 2022
Photo: Jan Szewchik
