Fluid Resistance
Project Information
In a symbolic way, Fluid Resistance’s body of work represents undercover resistance against the uninvited duress that, although accepted by logic, is rejected by our subconscious. This outcome is a celebration and homage to the time dedicated to those necessary, but so often unappreciated, efforts.
From a technical point of view, this artwork is created from multiple layers of painted high-density paper that have been cut using lasers. The process of the creation starts with a digital drawing, with each minuscule element drawn individually and recreated in five consecutive layers. The painstakingly time-consuming process has a deliberate aspect of enchanting the passage of time in a way that acts as a commemoration of all the hours in our life that we commit to the necessary, from the heart, beneficial but sublimely contested efforts and endeavors. The hidden aspect of the high volume of labour enchanted in this work is deliberate, representing the unaccounted amount of time that is dedicated to those rarely acknowledged endeavours. Each of the pieces consists of at least forty hours of manual rendering of the image, which acts as an enchantment of value, represented by the commitment of time.
This work was a part of my first Polish solo exhibition, Thin in Warsaw, Poland in August 2022. You can find more details about the exhibition here.
Curator’s Statement
I thought about Fluid Resistance this morning.
I thought about it while I raced around the kitchen, making breakfasts and lunches, clearing up last night’s dishes and turning on the dishwasher.
I thought about it while I put in a load of laundry, fed the pets and remembered to put the empty water bottles out for pickup.
I thought about it while I made the beds and turned off the dozens of electronic gadgets that a 9-year child leaves in their wake on the way to school.
In short, I thought a lot about Fluid Resistance, while doing the myriad, banal, repetitive tasks that kept me from what I really wanted to be doing which was writing this statement…about Fluid Resistance.
You might say that I, in a way, performed Kasia’s piece this morning. As we all do, most days, for most of our lives.
And that is what makes Fluid Resistance such a compelling work. Other artists, particularly feminist art pioneers such as Marina Abramovic, Ann Hamilton and Janine Antoni, have created performance pieces that reflect on the repetitive and often mind-numbing nature of so much of (women’s) work. Kasia’s piece does that, but goes further, by challenging the negative reactions we might initially bring to a reflection on repetitive, seemingly unimportant tasks and asking the viewer to instead think about why we do these things – as acts of care. In in a moment where we, and our world, need care in myriad ways, this seems a crucial message for art to carry.
Sabrina DeTurk, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Research and Outreach
College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Zayed University