Ewa Partum, Selbstidentifikation, 1980
Ewa Partum
Selbstidentifikation

Ewa Partum (*1945, Poland, Germany) was one of the pioneers of conceptual art in Poland and an important influence on the development of feminist performance art from the beginning. According to her motto “an act of thought is an act of art,” her public actions and works on paper focus on the power of signs, the materialisation and the realignment of language, representation and mental images. Partum has been living and working in Berlin since 1983.

The exhibition Selbstidentifikation (Self-Identification) in the Mała Galeria in Warsaw comprises a performance, photo-collages and film projections, in which Ewa Partum appeared naked as a provocation and protest against the standardised role of women in socialist society. Partum stated her intention to continue intervening with her nude body until women developed their own art. According to her, this art included presenting herself as a sign of self-reflection.
The exhibition consists of photo-collages of the naked artist superimposed onto everyday images of Warsaw’s streets and in front of public and historical monuments. It also includes photo documentation of a live performance (one performance was censured). Until her move to Berlin in 1982, Partum continued to focus her radical performances on her female identity.

Courtesy Ewa Partum

Document media
8 photographs on canvas

Issue date
1980

To be seen in
Centro Cultural Montehermoso, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, 7 October 2011 – 15 January 2012

Tags
appropriation, public space, state oppression, stereotypes