A Hollow Laugh

“I generally don’t like talking very much, and I certainly don’t explain my works, so I probably wouldn’t recommend asking questions in that direction. But I do enjoy telling anecdotes from time to time, and speaking critically about art education and the general collapse of art. It’s a kind of hobby of mine.” This was Aleksandra Waliszewska’s response when I asked her if we could do an interview for The Unibrow. Familiar with her work, intrigued by the person behind it, and ready for some raw, direct thoughts from the unvarnished fellow-Slav, I sent her a couple of questions and we quickly touched on subjects the Polish artist holds strong opinions on. 

When I asked for a profile photo of her that we could include with the feature, Waliszewska replied saying, “one of the reasons why contemporary art is so weak is because too much emphasis is placed on artists appearing interesting or becoming interesting personalities, and much less on what they actually create. That is why I do not show my face.” This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the conversation. I would ask unassuming questions and she would respond in a way that did not necessarily provide direct answers, but gave me deeper insight into the person I was interacting with.