Your Body is a Field of Work

Solo exhibition: may - august, 2026
Ethnographic Museum, a branch of the National Museum in Wrocław, Poland
Curator: Marta Derejczyk
Scenography: Ala Savashevich
Text: Marta Derejczyk

How is the image of women in art and the way of its presentation changing? In what way is it affected by the ongoing political and socio-cultural processes? In the exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum, works by the contemporary artist Ala Savashevich encounter artefacts of folk culture, and together create a multifaceted narrative about women’s work and efficacy.In recent years Ala Savashevich has been exploring in her art the subject of women’s work. The artist, who originated from rural Belarus, was brought up in the cult of hard work. “Her consistently realised artistic practice raises significant issues: is it possible to understand the meaning of work without actually doing it? How are the carried-out actions registered in our bodies? Finally, do we want to remember the experiences of our female ancestors, and in what way do we want to recall them?”, asks the curator of this exhibition, Marta Derejczyk.The artist purposefully selects materials and techniques which are both labour and time consuming. She works using straw, metal and flax yarn, devoting many days to tedious stretching, brushing and combining these materials. The exhibition presents the artist’s works created in recent years along with the artefacts from the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Wrocław.