(b. 1991, lives in Poznań) studied film and television recording at the Institute of Creative Photography at the University of Silesia in Opava and Photography at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań, where she obtained her doctorate. She is a lecturer at the Photography Department of the University of Arts in Poznań, and runs a photography studio at the Zamek Culture Centre in Poznań. An author of photographs, books, installations, designs workshops, and educational activities, Kobierzyńska is interested in issues of memory, trauma, intergenerational messages, identity, and archives.
What I Feel Becomes Vigilant, 2021, sound installation, varnished steel structure, varnish, speaker wires, 7 Sony speaker drivers, amplifier, power supply, courtesy of the artist
The work refers to the tradition of the lullaby – one of the most primal music genres, rooted in almost all cultures of the world. Songs orally passed down from generation to generation were an important element of everyday culture developed by women. Kobierzyńska invited pregnant women and mothers of young children to work together on creating a lullaby during the pandemic lockdown. The process began with discussions about their experiences related to pregnancy or motherhood. Due to the limited contacts, the performance of the piece was of a correspondence nature. The artist asked the participants to record the singing or melodies they use to put their children to sleep or direct at their pregnant belly. She sent them the score and recording equipment by mail. On the basis of the collected recordings, she created the lyrics and the polyphonic lullaby melody. Then the recording was divided into separate bands and transmitted using a sound installation designed by the artist. The structure resembles a carousel hanging over a children’s bed, used to calm babies down. Its scale, however, is much larger, and the material consists of rods, cables, and speaker drivers. The installation is a medium of women’s intergenerational memory, a melody of the survival of everyday rituals of care. The artist created it not only in response to periodic social isolation, but also the growing role of digital communication technologies.
Project participants: Kamila Berbecka, Kaja Billert, Marta Ewa Buczkowska, Anna Bułat, Alicja Frankowska, Karolina Grzeszczuk, Kasia Love, Kasia Michalska, Magda Miśkiewicz, Maria Moderska-Andrzejak, Barbara Sibila, Joanna Świerczyńska, Barbara Urbańska Technical support: Tomasz Pawłowski, Andrzej Szwabe
Venue:
BWA Zielona Góra, Al. Niepodległości 19