Body as a Living Archive

This work comes as a personal reflection of generational trauma woven into the context of Polish turbulent history.

This work starts as a reflection on generational trauma. The broken narratives in my family albums that I began to explore as a child were a thread to unravel the complexities and dramas that individuals on both sides of my family lines endured. Forced resetllements, forbidden relationships and unsafe life conditions constitute the backdrop of my ancestors struggles.

Using photography, visual maps, images, and representations of the body, this work is an attempt to navigate the unconscious, locate oneself within the chain of family events in the turbulent context of Polish history, and reclaim the power of one's identity. Hidden family histories are revealed in the bodies of subsequent generations, including my own, not only on the surface of the skin but also in the transmitted fears, psychosomatic reactions, and health issues.

Coming from a personal experience I was drawn to explore the concept of latent memory in the body – a memory that suddenly resurfaces and takes precedence over the present moment. This memory often comes from childhood, the fetal period, and sometimes even includes memories of our parents and ancestors when it comes to generational trauma —a history that resonates in the body at the cellular level like an echo.

Giving past it's space I am grateful to focus on a new cycle, beginning with motherhood. My scarred body once cut open and sewn back together, with a prominent slash crossing the abdomen is now a living vessel capable of giving life. It bears its fruit—a shell that whispers softly to those who listen closely, sharing stories of past suffering and future hope.