JOANNA BORKOWSKA | SECRETS

Secrets is being performed for the first time by children in Madrid in the form of an art installation. Children created personalized collages that contain coded secrets, and placed them in small white cardboard boxes. These boxes were then arranged like roots, extending out from a potted olive tree, which over the centuries in various cultures has been a symbol of wisdom, peace, hope, wealth, equilibrium, fertility and light. This tree, like the tree of life with its magical proprieties, passes on the secrets to the Universe.   This iteration of Secrets is inspired by a game, a ritual that was carried out by Polish children 6-10 years of age in various parts of the country during the second half of the twentieth century. The focus and goal of this activity was the creation of so-called “secrets” composed of dry leaves, flowers, colorful candy wrappers, dead insects, buttons, etc., which were then covered with a piece of glass and buried in the ground under trees. For many decades the ritual of making “secrets” was a powerful and selfless act of creation performed by generations of children in Poland.   The project Memory Stone was carried out in two stages. During the first sessions, which took place in the schools, Joanna Borkowska spoke with the children about the idea of stones being messengers from the past, witnesses of the Earth's history, of human civilization. They discussed the current condition of our planet and then tried imagine what the future will look like in 400 or 500 years. Afterwards, the children were left to think about what message they would like to pass on to the future. During the second sessions, which were held several days later in Madrid's Retiro and Aluche parks, each child wrote a short message to future generations on a piece of paper and then, after consciously connecting with the stone, placed his or her hand on the surface of the stone while reading the message. The goal of this act was to integrate the message into the stone's “memory.”   This project is to serve as a reminder of our connection and interconnection with Nature, altering our perception of the stone as an inanimate object, in order to recognize it as a silent witness or messenger—a bridge between the past, present and future. The project Memory Stone is also a reminder of the responsibility we bear for our actions for future generations. It is a subtle and gentle way of opening children's imagination and activating a kind of discussion about what we would like to leave for posterity. People behind these projects:   Joanna Borkowska earned her doctorate in political science at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where she lectured on the history of political thought and international relations between 2001 and 2007. She left her academic career to devote all of her creative energies to painting, which had been her greatest passion for over a decade. Her work has been shown in Poland, Italy, Monaco and Switzerland.   Secrets and Memory Stone were realized with children from three schools in Madrid: CEIP Cristóbal Colón, CEIP Parque Aluche and Fuhem Montserrat School. These projects were carried out under the auspices of the Levadura program, whose aim is to introduce children to the concepts and methodologies of contemporary art in a participatory way and in direct contact with artists. Levadura is joint program organized by Área de las Artes, Turismo y Deporte of the Madrid City Council and the Fundación Banco Santander, in collaboration with four municipal arts centers: Matadero Madrid, Medialab-Prado, Conde Duque and Centro Centro Cibeles de Cultura y Ciudadanía.     Organizers:

     

With the collaboration of:


 
INAUGURACIÓN: Martes 16 de diciembre, 18h.