WITHIN OUR FOUR WALLS

Within Our Four Walls, my first large textile installation, opened in Warsaw in mid-February 1979, but the work was executed in Stuttgart. The large empty studio, the novelty effect and the deadline energized me.

Within Our Four Walls depicts our daily routine – mornings on white cloth, days on pink, nights on black – in a foreign place, but with a familiar touch. Monika Malkowska’s art review of the installation created the impression that a crazy couple really lived in the gallery and could be seen in bed. A mob came and, disappointed, exploded with anger. The regular public was disconcerted by the use of loose cloth as well as the subject matter – a life-size woman brushing her teeth or a man peeing – quite unusual for stiff Communist morality.

I, THE WHITE KANGAROO

Who are you? Little Kangaroo. What is your sign? Kangaroo white.

1-5 I, the White Kangaroo, 1977-78

This has been my motto since age four. Therefore, the title of the triptych I, The White Kangaroo. One chilly spring Sunday in 1950, the Warsaw Zoo’s heating system had broken down. The Director Jan Zabinski fetched a newborn lion and I fed the baby with a bottle, while he chatted with my father. – I could not forgive the Australians – I heard him sigh – for not sending us any marsupials. But now I agree, this is not the country for kangaroos. – Not for Kuryluks? – I misunderstood. My father laughed, but the director pointed to the large pocket on my breast. – You have a kangaroo bag – he said seriously – and I declare you Honorary Kangaroo.