The human mind used to rebel against anything that disturbed its equilibrium and orderliness. Meanwhile, according to quantum mechanics, various objects in the micro-world (e.g. electrons) can simultaneously be in two (or more) states. To be more precise, their state is described by a wave function that combines certain base states. This unsettlingly paradoxical depiction of reality is called superposition.

Glass, i.e. static matter with specific physical features, is but a starting point for Beata Stankiewicz-Szczerbik’s ephemeral works. The artist redefines glass by boldly including it in performance-like narratives, installations or video works. As a result of these operations, glass loses its physicality and becomes an indefinable, unsettling phenomenon. The artist uses glass to create elaborate self-portraits, talk about motherhood, identity, femininity and evanescence. She unveils her glass heart, whose rhythm is controlled by the viewer.

Beata Stankiewicz-Szczerbik (b. 1967) Wrocław Academy of Art and Design; Faculty of Ceramics and Glass, Glass Department / Prof. Zbigniew Horbowy.