This article talks about the exhibit ‘Painkillers’, created by Joana Rajkowska, giving background of her discoveries and thought behind creation.
Article Excerpt
During her research into the history of the Cold War, Polish artist Joanna Rajkowska made the dark discovery that Soviet biological weapons were made in conjunction with, and often in the same laboratories as, life-saving pharmaceuticals. Now, in her latest body of work, ‘Painkillers’, Rajkowska explores and comments on this paradoxical relationship.
‘It seems that means of killing and means of saving peoples’ lives are related to each other in terms of the forces generating them,’ she says of the new pieces. ‘This closeness can probably also be found between the means of inflicting pain and relieving it.’
Central to the ‘Painkillers’ project, which will be showcased next month at London’s l’étrangère gallery, is a series of weapons cast in polyurethane resin mixed with powdered analgesics, such as a life-size Uzi sub-machine gun, as well as a pair of latex gloves and a model of an Israeli nuclear weapon core.
No stranger to the topic of conflict, Rajkowska’s previous public works have tackled equally uncomfortable subjects. The Peterborough Child – a series of outdoor sculptures inspired by racial tensions in Peterborough, initiated in 2012 – was produced but not installed after religious objections were raised by community representatives; while the artificial Palm tree that the artist installed at the junction of Aleje Jerozolimskie in Warsaw, which was created as a commentary on the void left by the absence of the Jewish community in Poland following the Second World War, served as a meeting point for a series of political events, performances and happenings ten years after its installation.
Relevance
This article talks about the artist Joanna Rajkowska and her exhibit ‘Painkillers’. This exhibit was brought about after her finding out that Soviets were using the same factories to manufacture biological weapons as well as pharmaceuticals. This contrast between life saving and life taking is interesting in that is points out directly how odd this manufacturing method is, but also points out that both weapons and pharmaceutical drugs and being used for ‘protection’ and ‘destruction’. Pharmaceutical drugs are something that are created to save lives and manage different conditions, however these drugs are sometimes abused or used in harmful ways.
In healthcare, trust between patient and doctor is built on the belief that medical professionals and pharmaceuticals are there to heal and protect. Patients are placing this trust in doctors that they have their best interest in mind and that they are going to heal instead of, in some cases harm. Considering how the trust between patient and doctor can be maintained is something to consider.
Sources
Morris, A. (2015, August 24). Pain paradox: Joanna Rajkowska casts weaponry out of painkillers. wallpaper.com. https://www.wallpaper.com/art/pain-paradox-joanna-rajkowska-casts-weaponry-out-of-painkillers
Rajkowska, J. (2019). Painkillers (2014 – 2017) 2018, permanent installation at Museum Susch. Painkillers (2014 – 2017) – Joanna Rajkowska. http://www.rajkowska.com/en/painkillers-2014-2017/
