Karolina Breguła: Touches the Forehead – A Contemporary Art Exhibition on Fear and Division

This exhibition by Karolina Breguła delves into our behaviors under pressure and threat, presenting a poignant portrait of a society gripped by fear and division amidst overlapping crises like climate change and political instability. The central piece is a five-channel video installation depicting a destructive storm over an island, revealing the fragility of community and the rise of social indifference.

The exhibition 'Touches the Forehead, Feels like it Burns, Probably Has a Fever' by Karolina Breguła dissects human responses to pressure and escalating threats, offering a compelling depiction of a society consumed by fear and internal division amidst interconnected crises of climate, politics, and humanitarian concerns. At its core is a five-channel video narrative that portrays a devastating storm sweeping over a seaside island. Viewers witness characters observing the storm from afar, initially with curiosity, which gradually turns to unease as the destructive power of nature intensifies. The communal response reveals its fragility, with individuals exhibiting confusion, forming temporary alliances, then distancing themselves, succumbing to external influences, or prioritizing their own needs. Cynicism emerges towards the misfortunes of neighboring islanders, highlighting mechanisms of social apathy, populism, and conformism that erode trust and foster isolation, thereby amplifying the sense of threat. The community, in which the viewer becomes an unwitting participant, disintegrates, held together only by the landscape. Similar to other video works by the artist, the landscape here is not merely a backdrop but an active element that preserves the memory of numerous existences, both human and non-human. Traces of their histories are etched into the ruins of homes and discarded objects, their subjectivity dissolved into atmospheric phenomena and natural elements. The landscape serves as a space for reflection on sociopolitical instability. The exhibition also touches upon the Taiwanese context, a region where Breguła has realized most of her work in recent years. The photograph from the series 'Ebb Tide' depicts the coastal town of Xincuo inundated by the sea. Due to gradual land subsidence and rising sea levels, the landscape undergoes continuous transformation, with the disaster unfolding slowly and its impending stages becoming an accepted, mundane reality for its inhabitants. Breguła's works offer a somber collective portrait of a society seized by fear and internal fragmentation. The words of a character from 'The Storm' – 'I touch my forehead, it feels like it burns, I probably have a fever' – serve as a diagnosis for the inflamed state of communities facing crises and perpetual tension. This exhibition is part of a series of individual presentations in Gallery 1, adjacent to the Study Collection Storage, which combines collection storage with a curatorial and educational program, focusing on artists whose works are part of the collection of the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle.

The exhibition is part of the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle's program. Specific ticketing information is not detailed on this page, but opening hours are provided for Tuesday-Sunday, with extended hours on Thursdays.