Site- specific Installation / various dimensions

The term “eco-anxiety” plays an important role in Raczynska’s approach. This phenomenon was described for the first time in 2011, and since then it has greatly spread, causing stress and depression in many people due to our increasing awareness of climate change. Raczynska, somewhat ironically, translates traditional references to nature into the language of contemporary fears. 

The bamboo surveillance cameras make a reference to the so-called Social Credit System, which covers almost each of 1.4 billion Chinese citizens. Two hundred million cameras (one per each seven citizens) monitor their daily habits, shopping trips and the extent to which they fulfil their duties. By making sculptures inspired by the Chinese surveillance system, Raczynska introduces an element of uncertainty or even threat to privacy. The material used in the installation is also significant. Bamboo, one of the most environmentally-friendly materials in the world, is the Chinese symbol of virtue, righteousness, loyalty and integrity. It reflects human souls and emotions. 

How ironic! 

The presentation is complemented by a form resembling an oversized syringe. It is overgrown with icelandic  moss, triggering associations with the so-called topiary, i.e. plants clipped by man to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, which decorate many home gardens. Moss is also widely used in the interiors of buildings belonging to large companies and corporations as a “tool” to combat air pollution. It is therefore another example of the artist’s irony, criticism and ridicule of a kind of schizophrenia that characterises our contemporaries.