Cultivation of Lilac Dust with the Help of Pendulum 2019

Editor: This is Lech Jankowski’s "Cultivation of Lilac Dust with the Help of Pendulum," made with acrylic paint in 2019. I’m immediately struck by its… ominous mood. It's almost like looking into deep space, but the title suggests something much more earthly. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, let’s consider what "cultivation" means. Usually, we apply it to plants or knowledge, something you nurture and grow. But "lilac dust?" Dust is usually the end result of things. It feels paradoxical, right? The pendulum then brings up notions of physics but also spirituality and new-age movements. What is being measured, and for what end? It could be commenting on our contemporary obsession with productivity even within the most ephemeral or intangible realms. Editor: That makes sense. It feels like Jankowski is questioning this human need to control even the most chaotic elements, and to measure unmeasurable phenomenon. Curator: Exactly. Consider also the role of abstraction in political discourse. In a world saturated with images and data, abstraction can be a powerful form of resistance, of creating space for contemplation and alternative narratives. It resists easy categorization, forcing viewers to confront ambiguity and question dominant ideologies. How might that relate here? Editor: Perhaps, it's about resisting the need for everything to be so clear cut and defined? About making room for uncertainty and even the "dust" of things. I hadn't thought of that connection between abstraction and resistance before. Curator: Precisely. By creating this strange scenario, he offers space to question systems of value. Editor: That's really opened my eyes to what abstraction can do. Thanks.