Zła Ziemia / Rekultywacja

June/July 2026 Museum of the Earth in Warsaw

An exhibition of works intended to engage with the architecture, the extraordinary spaces of the first floor of the Pniewski Villa, as well as what can be seen outside the windows and the natural light streaming in. The institution of which the Villa is a part inspired the creation of an exhibition devoted to earth issues, from a personal perspective, connected to the experience of gardening and the experience of time inherent in the cyclical nature, as well as global phenomena concerning climate change and ecology in its broadest sense. What kind of earth have we inherited from previous generations? In what condition will we leave it to our successors?

The soil in the garden has been contaminated by previous users. Excessive nitrogen compounds and other harmful substances in the soil cause problems with plant cultivation. Hence the idea of making a minimal change – digging up a certain amount of bad earth, processing it for artistic purposes, and then displaying it in an art gallery. The idea was that, after the exhibition ends, the same amount of good soil, resulting from the composting process of the garden’s vegetation cycle residues, such as leaves, grass, vines, and small branches, would be placed in the space left behind.

The white, cubic works had been used previously. Their reuse is a form of recycling, repurposing the same materials for different purposes. In the exhibition, the white works ultimately create a small container. Inside, there is a full-fledged compost. This work corresponds with the central section of the exhibition – a space separated by black curtains – which conceals a triptych alluding to the so-called “Infinity Scroll” – excessive browsing on a smartphone. A single movement of the finger, a lightning-fast action, was slowed down, attuned to the time of the formation of good earth, the physical work of the garden, and the annual cycle of vegetation – or conversely – the time of the formation of good earth, the physical work of the garden, and the annual cycle of vegetation accelerated, condensed to a fraction of a second, passed by, meaningless, like other images.