The show, a culmination of Markiewicz’s past two years of work, brings together costumes, props, video documentation, and set pieces from her performances, all tied together by the aesthetics of stage magic. At its core, however, is the artist’s lived experience with disability.
“I process it from an autobiographical perspective, because I myself am a person with a disability — I was born without a left hand,” Markiewicz told Polish Press Agency (PAP). Her practice challenges perceptions by blending surreal spectacle with personal narrative.
Inspired by the history of freak shows and entertainers with non-normative bodies, Markiewicz reframes performance art beyond the traditions of figures like Marina Abramović, drawing instead from icons such as Stefan Bibrowski, the Polish-born “Lion Man” of early 20th-century sideshows.
In “The Lonesome Wing,” she appears as a woman with a bird’s wing instead of an arm. “Ballad of the Withering Rose” transforms her into a mutated flower, while in “Underbelly Bar” she becomes a fan of playing cards — a metaphor for the traits people hide while revealing only ornamented façades.
“I wanted to shift the weight of attention, to add humanity to these objects,” Markiewicz said, referencing magic props like roses, doves, and cards. “In this way, they tell a surreal story where disability is central, not marginal.”
The exhibition’s centerpiece is a giant magician’s top hat that visitors can step inside, symbolizing the transformation of perception — the “misterioso” moment when illusion becomes belief.
“I use the language of entertainment to captivate and amuse,” she said. “I don’t want to scare people away from the topic of disability. I want to bring them in.”
(jh)
Source: PAP, Polish Radio