Opening of the exhibition “Words Reflect on Themselves” / Stefan Gierowski Foundation in Warsaw

“You’d have to see it!”—this phrase ends the discussion and leaves the realms of visuality and literalness forever apart. Yet experience teaches us that not everything needs to be seen in order to be described. It also shows that the story of an object is often far more engaging than its mere appearance. Ekphrasis was devised to bring together these ambiguities. It is a literary form for describing works of art, one that can function independently of the original image.

The internet has reinvigorated the relationship between description and image. Wherever an image is unavailable, alternative text appears, often generated by AI. The popular image generator DALL-E uses prompts to generate digital images based on internet resources. The modern ideology of the image dominating over other modes of communication obscures the fact that words increasingly pull the strings behind the scenes. Logocentrism is entering a new phase.

This exhibition showcases works by artists who rely on mediation through words to create their paintings. The project reveals the diverse relationships between these two spheres. It includes imaginary objects whose existence is mediated by storytelling, as well as works whose meanings are destabilized by ambiguous words. Sometimes the reverse occurs—words help define objects and stabilize their meaning. There are also works that act as diary pages or as inkpots. The question of the relationship between words and image inevitably touches on the issue of narration. Can a visual medium contain a story that unfolds over time, or even represent the passage of time itself?

Since the concept of ekphrasis assumes the possibility of translation between two distinct worlds, it is necessary to ask about the exchange value between images and words. Simply pointing out that visuality can never replace verbal relationships is no longer enough. We must also examine the exchange value of an object translated into words. The selected works have been subjected to a process of verbal translation by poets invited to participate in this project.