In Poland everyone is just born as catholic automatically. As a child I was practicing religious ceremonies however as I grew older I had to distance myself from the polish church. Though, some of implanted doctrines are still there, in the back of my mind. Not attending masses does not imply the remoteness from religion. Through my works – paintings, drawings and projects – or the ones presented at the exhibition – I try to put my thoughts, memories and cultural ballast in somewhat order. All the thoughts and experiences have to set free from my mind – I am working them through by means of art. It is not a therapy rather a set-off with my own heritage, which I carry all around the world.

The icon-like painting of the Monkey comes from the “Monkeys” series. Paintings “Lost Commandment I” and “Lost Commandment II” with portraits of Virgin Mary and Jesus are a comment on the catholic doctrine, which used to be similar to Islam – showing images of saints was once forbidden. For the church however it was more convenient to enrich temples with colourful faces of God and His Family. Maybe Jesus and Virgin Mary are tired of being constantly on display? The “Monkey” and portraits of Mary and Jesus come from two different series – the new juxtaposition of placing them together develops a new context.

As I was raised in communist Poland we didn’t have Coca Cola, or any other western product. Basically we did not have anything colourful. The greatest desire was an American Dream. “American Jesus” is a comment on overwhelming American culture, yet not the high-culture but the popular white-trash culture. This is what we get when living an American Dream.