The artist gained wide-spread recognition for one of her early installations, Passion (2001). It consisted of a Greek cross with a picture of male genitals and a soundless, slow-motion video of a man exercising at a gym, filmed at a moment of intense physical effort. In exploiting the double meaning of the word ‘passion’ – which can refer either to Christ’s passion or to enthusiasm – Nieznalska addressed the issue of cultural violence involved in disciplining the male body, and the oppressive nature of the dominant paradigms of masculinity. According to critic Izabela Kowalczyk, this work poses questions about the ‘construction of masculinity in a double context: that of consumer culture and that of the Polish Catholic tradition’.
Dorota Nieznalska, Passion, 2001, installation, photo: courtesy of the artist Passion sparked a nation-wide controversy, triggered by loud protests from right-wing and fundamentalist Catholic activists. This led to a court ruling in 2003 that was unprecedented in Poland, sentencing the artist to six months restriction of freedom and community service for offending religious feelings. However, the sentence was repealed two years later by an appeals court, and the case was reopened.
The artist ceased to exhibit her works when the trial began, partly because galleries were afraid of a potential right-wing backlash. Her silence was broken only in 2006 with the Obedience exhibit at the Old Brewery in Poznań, featuring, among other things, a series of ten photographs of objects the artist had created. These included a leash with a bronze spiked collar, a diadem resembling a crown of thorns and a ‘muzzle’ for male genitals (Implantation of Perversion, 2004/2005), a combination of elements from the dark world of S&M sexual practices and religious symbolism.
Dorota Nieznalska, Fetish, 2005, from the series Implantation of perversion, 2004-2005, photo: courtesy of the artist and Piekary Gallery The film Praying Position (2005) shows the artist holding her hands in a position of prayer for as long as she physically can, until she becomes exhausted and has to put them down. But the piece that attracted the most attention during the Poznań show was No. 44 (2005/2006), a chain made of crowns of thorns hanging on a hangman’s noose, which was interpreted as being the artist’s ironic gibe at Polish messianism.
