Resistance I

The protagonist of Joanna Górska’s painting is depicted on a beach, with the sea and a sunny, azure sky in the background. As a supplement to the serene poetics of the painting, the colourful pattern of a swimming suit is added, together with the redness of a cap of the smiling sunbather, who stands in a pose reminiscent of one for a photograph. However, there is a disruption in the form of an unfriendly gesture, commonly known as “Kozakiewicz’s gesture”. This discrepancy between the carefree atmosphere and the banality of the motif, and the gesture of a radical refusal comprises a key element of the crafty expression of the work. For the idyll, relaxation and holiday entertainment meet with opposition, expressed not only in a decided way, but also arrogantly. What’s more, this opposition, or as the title of the work hints – the resistance, is characterized with an additional ambivalence. On the one hand, it is firm, on the other – softened with a smile, it may be only a joke or a playful provocation, but it is certain that the expressive gesture has a specifically symbolic meaning for Polish viewers. [F. Pregowski]