ŁUKASZ DYBALSKI

Łukasz Dybalski

Light Stone Tiger Bull

Kredytowa 9 Warsaw

November 27 — December 13, 2015

coordination: Zuzanna Rutkowska

The previous exhibition – Red and Gold – dealt with fundamental issues related to light and pigments which model it. Its physical nature, its relation to time and the various ideas which can be reached simply by examining and thinking about a monochrome surface of color.

The Light Stone Tiger Bull exhibition is meant to provoke an analysis of the primal relations between light and symbols.

We can begin with the fundamental connections between the source of light and symbols, such as the ones related to constellations: atavistic classifications, creation of symbolism based on that which exudes light (sun, moon, lightning, fire). Then we can move on to deciphering other signs present in nature such as animal tracks in snow.

In the folder accompanying the exhibition I invoke a method of thinking which, according to Michel Foucault, formed the basis of science from its beginning until the end of the 16th century. Knowledge was developed through a series of associations. For example, medicines used to treat diseases of the eye were to be found among fruits which, in some way, resembled the eye. One type of these associations was known as ‘sympathy’ and it covered a great range from the very obvious to highly irrational constructs.

While this type of thinking is no longer deemed appropriate for scientific purposes, it remains (and will probably continue to remain) a natural environment for the visual arts. However, in order to get away from humanistic theory, I decided to base my examination of sympathy in what could be termed as romantic reminiscences (which, of course, are not far removed from the word sympathy).

For example, my painting Eleanor depicts a set of two different objects: a Mannerist portrait and a late 1960s American muscle car. The idea behind the painting comes from 2005 when I came across the portrait of Eleanor of Toledo in a surprising variety of situations including posters, book covers and articles. Eventually, I unexpectedly saw the original painting during a brief visit to the Prague Castle museum in the Czech Republic. The week of my visit to Prague I saw part of a little-known 1970s American movie in which a Ford Mustang GT was known as Eleanor. For some reason, this slightly surreal instance where a woman’s portrait and a sports car where connected by the same name made a deep impression in my mind. I suspect that this slightly odd story may have its basis in a mechanism not too dissimilar to the concept of sympathy.

Light Stone Tiger Bull addresses the process of ‘searching for a symbol’ for events connected to specific experiences and the search for a formal methodology (either abstract or landscape-based) for the visual expression of these experiences.

Ł.