Stalker
Duo presentation of Krzyś Bykowski & Dawid Konopka
Curated by Iza Roko

Contemporary reality is dominated by the ceaseless circulation of objects. Late capitalism injects consumption into every aspect of daily life, making it the only possible form of relief and relaxation, almost a substitute for rest. In this world, buying becomes a ritual gesture, and the product is not so much a thing as a promise, an image designed to spark desire. Consumption becomes a spectacle, with the experience of an illusion of wholeness at stake. The object in this spectacle has a short life. It first appears as a fetish, a form mediated by advertising, meant to stimulate the imagination and provoke action. After purchase, its imagery fades as it is absorbed into the fabric of everyday life, becoming part of the user’s personal stage set. With use, it begins its slow degradation. From an object, it turns into an abject, something unwanted, unsettling, demanding elimination. This mechanism repeats itself, creating a closed loop of desire, fulfillment, and rejection. At the core of this process lies transformation. The material, originally natural, is subdued and reshaped by human hands. The object becomes a hybrid: merging the organic and the synthetic, the natural and the cultural. Boundaries between nature and culture blur, and matter, processed and woven into the rhythm of human life, begins to co-create it, co-feel it, co-experience it. It is not only a tool but also a silent witness. After the object’s “death,” once it is discarded, hidden, or relocated, its existence does not end. A slow, almost imperceptible cycle of decay begins. Disposal is not disappearance; it is merely a shift in space and time. In this sense, waste becomes the most enduring trace of humanity and its value system, a testimony to a world where to have meant more than to be. The presented artists work with matter, giving it new meanings. What is old, used, and abandoned acquires new properties; what is ordinary becomes extraordinary. Each work carries within it a sense of dynamism, tension, sometimes even a form of silent interaction. These objects resonate with an aura of unease and mystery, becoming silent witnesses of the Anthropocene, observing from the shadows the processes of transformation, decay, and forgetting.