When we think of female portraits in art, the iconic images of the mother, the embodiment
of beauty, or even the woman at her workplace come to mind, but hardly ever do we
imagine a woman as a sister. Unlike the usual stereotypes regarding the social role of
women, which are exploited by art and widely known by the public, sisterhood seems to
remain neglected and unexplored.
Although celebrated by millions of women in real life, recognised as a classic motif
in feminist discourse, and often trivialised in popular culture, sisterly relationships
are still waiting to be addressed in contemporary art.
Magda Wieczorek meets the need to give female relationships a vivid imaginary inspired
by her own experience among her friends. From the position of insider, she portrays women
engaged in a sisterhood based on support and encouragement, a sisterhood that
empowers women and allows them to appreciate femininity at a deep level.
As the artist herself admits, she recorded the video when she broke up with her life partner
and began spending more time with her girlfriends. The fiasco of her romantic relationship
unexpectedly opened up the space for new experiences that allowed her to reconcile with
herself by immersing in the femininity she shared with others in her own ladyland. She
describes this period of her life as a joyful time that gave her the momentum to evolve as a
person and as a professional, a time that shaped her as a woman and contextualised her
feminism in a new environment. Not surprisingly, the feminism that can be felt in her work
is not a feminism that builds its strength in relation to the male domain, but a feminism that
empowers itself through the experience of being a woman surrounded by other women.
The artist firmly believes that the most valuable gift that can be given and received in such
a mutual sisterly exchange is acceptance. According to the artist, this cannot be achieved
without acceptance of the darker side of mortality and illness of the human body. The
images captured in the artist's video show the female body in its many forms and different
states. The celebration of the material body serves as a medium that channels the
immaterial - intimacy and trust between women. In her artistic vision, Magda Wieczorek
not only gives a new imaginary to the concept of sisterhood, but also challenges the
common perception of female relationships that are either demonised or sentimentalised in
mainstream culture.
The film was made as a part of the advertising campaign of the competition "Film your
story" organized by OPPO Mobile-manufacturer of mobile devices.
Bartosz Stoczkowski, film expert, Jagiellonian University.
Film: Magda Wieczorek
Music: Szymon Wójcik
Starring (in the order of appear on the screen): Kasia Koziorz, Kasia Danioł, Ola Mleczko,
Sandra Falkowska, Magda Lewandowska, Helena Bromboszcz, Magda Wieczorek
of beauty, or even the woman at her workplace come to mind, but hardly ever do we
imagine a woman as a sister. Unlike the usual stereotypes regarding the social role of
women, which are exploited by art and widely known by the public, sisterhood seems to
remain neglected and unexplored.
Although celebrated by millions of women in real life, recognised as a classic motif
in feminist discourse, and often trivialised in popular culture, sisterly relationships
are still waiting to be addressed in contemporary art.
Magda Wieczorek meets the need to give female relationships a vivid imaginary inspired
by her own experience among her friends. From the position of insider, she portrays women
engaged in a sisterhood based on support and encouragement, a sisterhood that
empowers women and allows them to appreciate femininity at a deep level.
As the artist herself admits, she recorded the video when she broke up with her life partner
and began spending more time with her girlfriends. The fiasco of her romantic relationship
unexpectedly opened up the space for new experiences that allowed her to reconcile with
herself by immersing in the femininity she shared with others in her own ladyland. She
describes this period of her life as a joyful time that gave her the momentum to evolve as a
person and as a professional, a time that shaped her as a woman and contextualised her
feminism in a new environment. Not surprisingly, the feminism that can be felt in her work
is not a feminism that builds its strength in relation to the male domain, but a feminism that
empowers itself through the experience of being a woman surrounded by other women.
The artist firmly believes that the most valuable gift that can be given and received in such
a mutual sisterly exchange is acceptance. According to the artist, this cannot be achieved
without acceptance of the darker side of mortality and illness of the human body. The
images captured in the artist's video show the female body in its many forms and different
states. The celebration of the material body serves as a medium that channels the
immaterial - intimacy and trust between women. In her artistic vision, Magda Wieczorek
not only gives a new imaginary to the concept of sisterhood, but also challenges the
common perception of female relationships that are either demonised or sentimentalised in
mainstream culture.
The film was made as a part of the advertising campaign of the competition "Film your
story" organized by OPPO Mobile-manufacturer of mobile devices.
Bartosz Stoczkowski, film expert, Jagiellonian University.
Film: Magda Wieczorek
Music: Szymon Wójcik
Starring (in the order of appear on the screen): Kasia Koziorz, Kasia Danioł, Ola Mleczko,
Sandra Falkowska, Magda Lewandowska, Helena Bromboszcz, Magda Wieczorek