Submission
AUGUST 21, 2023

They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom

Karolina Jarzębak at Galeria szara kamienica, Cracow
June 16 — August 16, 2023

exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom

– Our legends are usually much more interesting. And in those times, the life of a stone was full of emotions.
– Really?
– Yes. Endless fun, volcanoes everywhere. Being a stone really meant something. No sedimentary nonsense.
You were either volcanic or you were nothing. That’s all changed, of course. Just think, who gets called a troll these days… Sometimes even plain old rocks… even chalk. I’d rather not speak if I could be written with. Terry Pratchett, “Thief of Time”

The exhibition explores the concept of spirits and ghosts as a metaphor for imperialist exploitation and a symbolic representation of lifeless entities, intertwining Japanese mythology and Western notions of animated objects – things that act and engage in a dialectic of objectification and a “lowest rank” reality. It presents a visionary depiction of a dreamlike future, not only after the end of the world, but also following the demise of another civilization, manifesting as a comically eerie metaverse where everything and everyone merge into a unified consciousness. This collective intelligence resembles an invisible and expansive underground mycelium. However, it observes the memes we have created without recognizing the faces that originated them, not because of its incapacity, but due to their nonexistence. Rather, they have developed their own identities.

Terence McKenna, an ethnobotanist and philosopher, asserted in “Stoned Ape” that without hallucinogenic mushrooms, we would still be primitive and mute apes. If we had not ceased their consumption, social hierarchy might exist merely as a fabricated or AI-generated recollection.

***

The term “Cave Automatic Virtual Environment” (CAVE) within the metaverse denotes a virtual space enclosed by virtual walls, allowing individuals to personalize it as a three-dimensional room adorned with paintings according to their preferences. However, it transcends being merely a personal sanctuary, enabling individuals to embody their desired identities. In this regard, augmented reality emerges as an alternative form of existence, a realm where time holds no sway. Simultaneously, in a parallel world, the mushroom civilization metamorphoses humanity into an amorphous stratum of rock. The exhibition comprises sculptures crafted from discarded objects inspired by mythology, prehistoric artworks, and the shape-shifting intelligence of mycelium. A TikTok video accompanies the installation, featuring the artist exploring the cave adorned with contemporary meme drawings, accompanied by an anthropomorphic stone puppet created from meteorites acquired on eBay. The title is borrowed from an internet meme illustrating the subterranean network of mycelium, connecting, and sharing resources with the roots of trees.
 
— Ania Batko
Karolina Jarzębak, Meme Lascaux, 230x195 cm, 2023
Karolina Jarzębak, Dzban, 50x44x40 cm, 2023
Karolina Jarzębak, Screaming chair, wood, 75x45x34 cm, 2023
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
Karolina Jarzębak, Screaming chair, wood, 75x45x34 cm, 2023
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
Karolina Jarzębak, anthropomorphic stone - a puppet constructed from meteorites bought on ebay, meteorites, glue, 10x8x8 cm,2023
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
Karolina Jarzębak, Meme Lascaux, 220x194 cm, 2023
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
Karolina Jarzębak, Meme Lascaux cave tour, video, 2022
They doesn't know, intarsia,33x 26 cm, 2023
They doesn't know, intarsia,44x 27 cm, 2023
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
exhibition view, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
detail, They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom

They’re sharing memes you couldn’t even fathom
Karolina Jarzębak

Galeria szara kamienica, Cracow
June 16 — August 16, 2023
 
Curation: Ania Batko
 
Photography: Michał Maliński

The exhibition was realized on a residency in Prague at MeetFactory and a residency at the Center for Polish Sculpture in Oronsko and the Creative Scholarship of the City of Cracow.

Karolina Jarzębak (born 1990) – visual artist working with performance and video art, creating objects and installations. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow at the Faculty of Painting in the studio of prof. A. Bednarczyk. Co-founder of Galeria 404 (2015-2017) in Krakow. The sad one in the “Sad Face” duo. Founder of the Jak Zapomniec gallery. She draws inspiration from memes and pictures found at the end of the internet. Problems faced by millennials, loneliness, the symbolism of sadness and anxiety, caused by the current socio-political situation in Poland and in the world, are the main themes of her work. She took part in many exhibitions, incl. at Galeria Widna, Galeria Henryk, BWA Wrocław Glowny, Gdansk City Gallery, Galeria Bunkier Sztuki, BWA Bielsko Biala, Jak Zapomniec, BWA Katowice, Galeria Promocyjna and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Odessa. She lives and works in Cracow.

O FLUXO is an online platform for contemporary art.
EST. Lisbon 2010

O FLUXO
© 2023