Hive-minded

In the words of Arno Stern, the fruit of spontaneity isn't incidental. Rather, it is drawn from a deeply rooted desire – first born of a bashful impulse, later strengthened in the process of relentless repetition.

Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, driving the impulse to create. A hive works together as a whole, like a honeybee colony, ready to abandon the honeycomb with their queen at the first sign of danger. Kaja Gadomska's Hive-minded is built around the need to express oneself within the specificity of a given system, about growing up and embarking on motherhood, about the struggle between well-being and forging a new relationship with one's surroundings. A form of relaying meanings between an effort and its effect, repetition and spontaneity, the artist and their audience. An individual act within a collective pursuit of meaning, understanding and harmony, at the intersection of multiple needs, desires and emotions.

The abstract lexicon and the artist's contextual exploration is drawn from the "formulation" theories of Arno Stern, along with influences from Marshall Rosenberg's notion of Nonviolent Communication. These approaches were originally injected into the life of the artist, with her children in mind, however, their relevance is also clear in terms of the links to the artistic practices of Kaja Gadomska.

(...)

The key piece in the exhibition, Hive-minded, is a reference to bees and the precise structure of their lives. Motivated by a naturally driven imperative, they create endless honeycomb structures. In the beehive, each member has their own distinct role and the whole functions in harmony. Its social structure is founded on the notion and importance of motherhood. Researchers believe the hive is capable of a collective emotional state, while the communication network, based on scent, is an effective way of relaying important information. Bees are intelligent beings, capable of making decisions aimed to preserve the well-being of the entire hive. The hive's activities are managed by the essential needs of the hive, meant to ensure the colony's continued survival.

(...)

Text: Jakub Prange-Barczyński