Cher / Decalcomania21

"I am made of memories" M. M. "The song of Achilles"

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Abortion in Poland - ‘Hell for women’

‘Why should old men decide on my body!’ - that’s what were asking many girls and women in Poland in 2020 22nd of October.

‘They never went through this emotional and physical pain of not considering your body as your own but as a ‘machine to make babies’ because that’s what women were born for, right?!’

It’s been three years now since the decision to make abolition illegal in Poland. Of course the government says it’s protect women and their children but is is really true? How many examples of women being left for death and endangering their lives you have to see to understand that you’ve just made them suffer more.

Even in such extreme cases like rape, women are still obliged to show some proof of prohibition act which makes it almost impossible for the rape survivors to obtain abortion. If there is a possibility of life threatening complications from pregnancy, still the doctors will say to a woman: ‘there is nothing we can do now, you have to wait because they might think we did it on purpose.’

As a woman in my country with current government I don’t feel like my body belongs to me, it doesn’t and maybe in everyday situations I won’t think about it. But when it comes to those decisions, it’s not going to be my choice. And this is not right!

"STOP KILLING US"

"WE WANT DOCTORS NOT MISSIONARIES"

Protesters shouting.

Polish people are demanding their rights and they are going to fight for it. Looking at the history of Poland we were born with anger and power inside us. It doesn’t matter how many years or how difficult it’s going to be, we won’t give up until we get our rights back, rights to decide on our own self.

Last month, the election was held in Poland. Many Polish people came back from different countries just to vote. But also, thousands of others voted in the UK. I myself went to one of the district in London. I was waiting for 5 hours in a queue outside the building because no one was prepared for this amount of people showing up. But still like everyone else, I stayed in that queue. No matter how long you have to wait especially it that cold weather, when it comes to your rights and your family’s safety, you will do everything.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Poland violated human rights of woman in abortion case, European court rules

European court of human rights finds that Polish abortion legislation breached a pregnant woman’s right to privacy and family life, after he

Poland: Abortion Witch Hunt Targets Women, Doctors

Poland’s government is targeting people for alleged abortion-related activities, intensifying a climate of fear that heightens risks for wom

The Human Toll of Poland's Abortion Laws

Many in Poland are looking to the Oct. 15 parliamentary elections to produce change to the current, dire conditions.

Rodzina Izabeli z Pszczyny w Parlamencie Europejskim – DW – 17.11.2022

W Parlamencie Europejskim odbyło się wysłuchanie publiczne dotyczące faktycznego zakazu aborcji w Polsce. W spotkaniu wzięła udział także sz

Overall take on project

I am really happy I could work with people that are as passionate about this topic as I am. We created an environment where we could freely share our thoughts and feelings about quite controversial issues. At the beginning of our work together we discussed and sectioned which one of us would do which topic. That’s why we didn’t have any problems and difficulties to finish everything on time. What was also interesting about working together was seeing different approaches and life experiences on certain subjects added in our manifesto. I think this combination gives us more personal and powerful tenor on our final project.

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Kōtarō Takamura, 1910

A Green Sun

Kōtaro Takamura was an Japanese artist who had been working in London, New York and Paris. He created a manifesto called ‘A Green Sun’. It is at once a passionate declaration and meandering excogitation.

‘Even if someone paints a ‘green sun’, I will not say it is wrong. This is because there may be a time when the sun looks that way to me too.’

Who am I to say that you are incorrect? Even if our perception is different I can’t be sure that maybe I am wrong or even neither of us are. We both can be right but in another way and place.

‘I am born Japanese. Just as a fish can’t live out of water, so I can’t live as non-Japanese, even if I remain quiet about it.’

Kōtarō says that being Japanese shouldn’t limit your real potential and artistic identity. He wishes that Japanese artists won’t be afraid of producing something that is not considered as traditional Japanese art. He wants them to be freely with whatever their own artistic interests are and stay true to themselves. Being born as Japanese should be already enough for people not to judge and take the art as it is. Kōtarō wants to encourage to break the routine and be more adaptable, bring new ideas and experiment with different approaches.

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Library

On the 10th of November I went to the materials room in my University.

At first I remember being completely lost. Even so I went to the library many times, I must say that finding the room was not the easiest thing to do. You need to go through so many doors but because it is really unique and filled with different textiles, vintage clothes, old magazines and books and many other precious objects I understand why you have to try harder to find that beautiful place. It is an amazing source of inspiration for artists but also other students, trying to find vulnerable items for their projects.

I personally felt in love with the beautiful collection of old magazines, some of them even from 50’s!

They were on one of the highest shelves, in a regular box, not showing the worth of the inside. When I found it I could stop myself from going through them over and over again. Touching the paper and smelling the pages I could almost feel like I am one of those women - reading their morning magazines drinking coffee. Unfortunately, I think after an hour the time in the materials room got to the end and I had to leave my dearest magazines. But thankfully I can always come back and again lost myself in the mesmerizing images of ‘the old times’.

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For this dérive I took inspiration from Haegue Yang, a Korean artist who created an amazing piece called the “Carsick Drawing”. She traveled toward Huu Nghi and Youyoguan and during that time Ms Yang traced the movement of a car shake with ink on paper.

For my transport I chose the bus 83 which I take every day going to university. The bus wasn’t that shaky as usual but still I could describe how my journey went with the line that I draw.

I had a lot of fun doing that dérive and following Ms Yang steps. Drawing the line made me think of every little shake that the bus created and I paid more attention to little details surrounding me. I found it surprising that I was waiting for a hole in the road just to create more shaky line. Usually you want to have your journey as smoothly as possible but in that case I wanted completely the opposite. Bumpy ride was what I was looking for and inconvenience for other people in the bus I got what I was waiting for.

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Today, I decided to go for a walk and explore the Wembley area where I live. Because I moved here less than a month ago I didn’t have a chance to get to know this place as I wanted to. That’s why it was a great opportunity to see where I will spend this year.

At first I found it quite difficult not to think about the destination of my “little journey” but after few minutes I forgot about everything that stresses me and let myself enjoy this moment of freedom.

Walking around, especially near the stadium I discovered that everywhere I look I see students. This place is full of people working on their projects in cafeteria or going to a store at 11 pm and doing quick last minute shopping. I was turning my head left and right trying to see those people, like me, figuring out themselves in reality of student life.

I wasn’t really optimistic about my first dérive but now I can say I didn’t have any reason not to be. Thanks to this journey I could explore Wembley more deeply than when I do going every morning to uni. I feel affiliations to this place and I ensured myself that this is something for me, where I belong.

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What is the essence of “dérive”?

It appears to be something very simple but at the same time complex in their simplicity. A person who decides to participate in that activity has the desire to let themselves “go with the wind”, lose oneself in the surrounding completely. It’s the very specifics of a “dérive” - it takes you out of the world you’ve been in and transforms your mindset, so you can live in the moment. A “dérive” is a time of “carpe diem”, letting go of your usual patterns. It invites you to take a closer look at the world. The world around you and within you, by giving up the structures of your every-day life.

The term “dérive” intrigues me because is a journey based on something more than what an eye can see. It’s allowing yourself to experience your surroundings again, right now, in that exact moment. Those feelings are rare and very precious in this reality and the world of “dérive” is limited to a special group of people, one so evergreen.