Polish Women - Polish Swallows - longing for freedom

2021 - XIII Florence Biennale 2021 - Fortezza da Basso, Italy, Florence
silver medal „Lorenzo il Magnifico” cat. Mixed Media

Polish women - Polish Swallows

oil on canvas + spatial installation
180x100cm, 2021

In 2021, the international jury of the Florence Biennale, composed of outstanding scientists, historians and art critics, awarded the "Lorenzo il Magnifico" awards to the best artists in several categories. This year in Florence, the Polish woman Maja Gajewska was also honored with the award.
„Polish women - Polish Swallows" won the silver medal "Lorenzo il Magnifico" in the Mixed Media category during the 13th Biennale in Florence.

The main idea of the work:

In Poland, one of the most restrictive laws on termination of pregnancy in Europe has been in force since the 1990s. Nevertheless, on October 22, 2020, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal went a step further by issuing a judgment prohibiting abortion due to severe and irreversible damage to the fetus or an incurable life-threatening disease.

Hundreds of thousands of people came out onto the street, not only Polish women - Polish swallows. Massive anti-government social protests against the tightening of the abortion law in Poland began. The protesters held banners with the slogans: "Women's hell", "My body, my choice", "This is war", "Women's strike", "We've already been polite", "Poland is a woman".

The scale of the protests took on unprecedented proportions. Manifestations of many thousands took place not only in large cities, but also in smaller centers. Women's circles expressed their opinions and responded to the position of politicians. This was the greatest resistance since Poland's clash with the communist regime in the 1980s.

The fight for women's rights began. In the 21st century, in Europe, in a country of the European Union, in white and red Poland, where white is good and purity, and red is the dignity and majesty of Polish rulers ... is that for sure? The Constitutional Tribunal, the Polish constitutional court essentially independent of the political authority, has now become a highly politicized institution, dependent on the ruling political party, practicing a populist narrative based on radical judgments, primarily on moral issues. Poland is slowly ceasing to be white and red.