To talk about the relationship between humans and nature, we must abandon the linear perspective of time. It is difficult to discuss the sources of existence in terms of “was, is, will be.” Linear time imposes an anthropocentric, egocentric view that has led us to a place where we should not be. All that transcends linear time resonates within us as echoes, intuitions, and primal memories. It is a facet of existence that demands we dissolve into duration, embracing timelessness.

The works of Magdalena Abakanowicz and Bartłomiej Flis in the exhibition The things we buried are growing meet precisely in this space of timelessness. Although the artists use different languages – sculpture and painting – they engage in a dialogue about the relationship between humans and nature. They explore a source that remembers everything, even what has been carefully hidden and buried beneath layers of time and history. The earth does not lose what we try to forget; instead, it stores it and eventually returns it to us. Art becomes a tool of extraction – a language that conveys what is primal, universal, and shared.

Much is said about the existential aspects of Magdalena Abakanowicz’s work, such as the isolation of the individual, alienation amidst the crowd, and the emptiness of a body lacking a soul – people as mere shells. However, her sculptures delve deeper, exploring the fundamental causes of this condition. They are created in a world where the natural cycles of life have been forgotten, leading to an imbalance both in individuals and in the community as a whole. In her works, people coexist with one another, yet they lack genuine connections.

While Magdalena Abakanowicz discusses what occurs “after,” Bartek Flis’s images evoke what happened “before.” His monochromatic, monumental representations resemble relief slabs from a temple of a long-forgotten civilization and incomprehensible and difficult-to-interpret rituals, featuring archetypal figures and symbols. These images depict a mythological prehistory – a narrative drawn from the underworld, where humanity existed in complete harmony with the world.

Bartek Flis captures a moment of existence devoid of hierarchy, free from divisions between the animate and inanimate, and untouched by yearning or deficiency. There is no need for subjugation. His gentle giants, suspended in an undefined space, appear to exist in a time that never was, yet continues endlessly – in a parallel reality.

If time is not linear, we may not be bound to predetermined outcomes. The intersection of Abakanowicz’s and Flis’s works allows us to approach questions about the relationship between humanity and nature in a new way – focusing on possibilities and renewal rather than loss and endings. In their art, the past, present, and future intertwine, offering hope for restoring balance. We must remember that we are merely custodians of the Earth.

(Text by Katarzyna Wąs. Translation by Mark Tardi)