2017 "I Am Just Ready To Be Me", National Forum of Music, Wroclaw
"We Live in a Therapy Culture"
(Quoted from Tony Robbins)
Therapy has become a trend.
For the first time in history, someone (other than religions) dares to “set up” life.To dig into values, goals, and needs.
Therapists say: We learn from what we’re made of, the maps we hold, and what we want to create. We can literally sculpt our lives as we wish, though not without effort, and always with great hope.
The first step is to be aware of how the mechanism of the human brain works. There is already some knowledge on this subject.
We chaotically search for a “miracle diet” for the soul. From time to time, a new revelation appears — a new guru, a new charismatic therapist. They offer a magic new concept, a recipe for achieving happiness… “If you only… do this and that…”...you’ll find real satisfaction in your work, your relationships, and yourself.
The search for happiness, broadly defined, reflects the method of painting my latest series: “I am just ready to be me” (quoted from Lauryn Hill).
When I attach colorful fabric to a loom, there are always leftover strips around, which I then cut off and collect. Over the years, I’ve gathered these cuttings, filling entire sacks. I’ve always known that one day I would paint this new series using them. That day is now.
These colorful fabric strips, remnants from all my previous works, symbolize recycling — not just of the material from which the images are made, but also of the ongoing cycle of self-renewal. This series is a visual representation of the struggle of someone who seeks constant growth.
While the medium is painting, the story behind these works speaks of years spent wandering, scanning reality in search of help, answers to the question: How can we live a satisfying life?
Tony Robbins, a trendy life coach, says there are six basic needs that every human being has: the need for security, uncertainty, connection, recognition, growth, and contribution.
The order in which these needs appear for you determines your life.
This series is a visual manifestation of what is most important to me.
IMAGES
I. The First Human Need – A Sense of Security
1. Table - The table is the center of life — where family, friends, and community gather.A place for real conversations, strengthening through exchange. It’s an infinite space — with as many legs and seats as needed. But sometimes, it can feel like a place of torture, where loneliness gapes between people you want to connect with but don’t know how.
2. Table - An old table — connected to tradition, ancestors, and rituals.A place where our beliefs and customs are passed down. The table is the bloodstream of our culture, guiding us, grounding us.
3. A Man who holds the earth — a man of action — he cleans, he sows, he bends down, he works, he struggles. Respect for labor. Being close to the earth. Close to the truth.
Being rooted in the soil brings more than light-heartedness. Our bodies keep us grounded, close to the earth. We draw strength from the land. From the trees, from the wind. It’s a wonderful necessity — we draw strength from the earth, from the trees, from the wind.
(As seen in Bobbi Jene, where her boyfriend chooses to stay connected to his roots, choosing to remain in the land and traditions he belongs to, despite other possibilities.)
4. A Girl Who Carries the Whole Earth As a mother, I feel like I carry the entire world. There’s no room for leniency — I can’t oversleep, be late, or let myself go. I must give everything, non-stop. I am responsible for every second, every detail — home, support, dinner, cleanliness, money. It’s an honor, yet it crushes me. It’s beautiful, but sometimes too much for one person to bear. Every second is a struggle to keep my head above water, to not admit the truth: “I can't do this anymore.”I have an animalistic reflex to kick, scream, and howl in pain. I want to dissolve my pain and anger, let them flow through me like thoughts in meditation —finding a way to become transparent so the burden lightens.
My first instinct is to paint twisted, angry faces — dark, predatory —but I transform them into calm, colorful figures or animals. This shift is conscious, a change happening right before the viewer's eyes.
“Mother was the first land I ever knew…”
5. “H2O” – our resources, everything that nourishes us.
II. The second human need: change – variation – flow
6. Balance – standing on your head – making attempts – trying – changing.
7. The witch – the girl on a broomstick – intuition. Everything our body knows, even if we can’t name it, even if we don’t speak it — we don’t have to. Most people don’t define things — there’s no need to explain or formulate reality. Most people live through instinct. That is wisdom.
III. The third human need: being in relationship
8. The mother – as the experience of closeness. Organic attachment.Too much closeness.Lack of distance.Total immersion — union with another person. Automatically inheriting a value system from your parents, from your mother — and only later possibly correcting it. A tangled relationship, full of love and chaos. The original blueprint for every relationship that follows. "Mother was the first land I ever knew..."
9. The father – a god in the child’s eyes. And for the father, the child can be a chance to relive his own childhood — to grow up again, more consciously. Where would the world be today if fathers had been present — if they truly knew their children and cared for them?
10. Friendship – joy – giving goodness despite differences. Joy — when everything else falls apart.
IV. The need to be accepted, valued, appreciated, seen
11. The ladder –In our culture, success is often seen negatively. The desire to climb the social ladder is judged as arrogance or showing off. So-called “new money” is often the target of jokes, resentment, envy. But it’s ambitious people who push the world forward. Where would we be without the ambition of Charlie Chaplin, Andy Warhol, and others? Great visionaries who, with relentless determination, created things the whole of humanity can be proud of. The ladder is narrow, unsteady, with fragile rungs — you have to climb it carefully and wisely.
12. The bee – Work as an honor. A privilege.
V. A higher human need – the need for growth
13. The rose. Most of the work happens in silence, in focus, without witnesses, without applause. Sometimes, we manage to sprout a leaf or two. Sometimes, we even bloom.
14. The key – It’s responsibility. For everything.
15. “Love – Fear” – every stick has two ends. Am I acting from fear right now, or from love? Can I let go of fear in this particular situation?
This image came after a conversation with the brilliant therapist Edyta B., who said: If we could get rid of fear, nothing would hold love back.
16. The image of a ladder and a barrier — it's the same image. It just depends how you position it — vertically or horizontally. What’s my core emotion right now? Am I irritated? Sad? Hopeful?
17. The thermometer – This thermometer is set to the perfect temperature: 25°C (77°F). I choose to believe that whatever is happening is just right — even if I don’t understand at all why any of it is happening.
VI. A higher human need – giving, sharing
18. The ear –Listening as a gift.
19. Freedom –Sharing a content, joyful face.
20. Treasure –The beautiful feeling that comes from giving.
21. The soul –It shines at the center. Then things shift — something seeps out from underneath. The edges get stained. Some places fall into the abyss.
© 2024 XY ANKA MIERZEJEWSKA