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Rąsia

Rąsia
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    • Handy
    • Rąsia
  • 1981
  • 2 b&w photographs, video
  • 30 × 40 cm
The performance “Rąsia” [Handy] was based on an attempt at the isolation of a body part. Zbigniew Warpechowski’s left hand was painted in black and yellow stripes that one might associate with heavy equipment or the cautionary colors of bees or wasps. The artist used this hand to manipulate various objects such as a dart for throwing at a board, a pointer, a leaf, and a match. With its movements being determined by the held object, his hand became less part of his body and more part of an apparatus involving the object and its function. This performance focused on the instrumental potential of the human body and how determined it is by environment and context. One might associate it with early modern motion studies that were conducted in order to increase the labor efficiency of the human body and turn it into an effective machine. Warpechowski showed how these practices can result in functional dismemberment of the organism. D.M.