Corpse

Truchło – a painting by Katarzyna Szeszycka (born in 1983) is the left wing of the triptych painted by the artist in 2012 as part of the Pełnia – Realizacja project. In line with the artistic concept, the series of paintings, it was based on photographs taken in Rokita, the artist's hometown in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, together with the project's co-author Konrad Królikowski. From among a thousand shots taken exclusively during night-time photo sessions, Szeszycka chose about a dozen works, which were then used as a basis for painting a series of large-format oil paintings on canvas. Most of them are outdoor portraits of the residents of Rokita, including the artist herself. In some of them – like in the case of the left and right wings of the triptych from the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin, the main motif of the work is landscape, with meadows and fields of Rokita depicted in the foreground. The way the artist operates with light highlights their poetic aura, exposing the natural power inherent in nature. In Truchło, which features the motif of decaying animal remains, Szeszycka complicates the usually romanticised perception of nature by introducing a naturalistic element to it. The visual power of Szeszycka's landscapes lies in the real, authentic relations between the artist and the environment which inspires her. Biographical features and childhood spent in forester's lodge in Rokita are the key to their understanding and interpretation.

Magdalena Lewoc