“Awakening” by Piotr Horodyński is another painting by the artist, whose main theme revolves around new beginnings, life choices, and change leading in the right direction. Although the foreground features a woman at the titular awakening moment, the most significant message emanates from her surroundings. The painting is full of elements with symbolic significance, with the clock and compass being the key ones. The clock symbolizes the passage of time. Time which, contrary to appearances, we have little of. Therefore, it is essential to live it in harmony with oneself, with one’s passions and dreams. Panta rhei! The compass represents the choice of direction, the path we want and should follow. Birds accompanying the woman signify freedom and humanity’s innate desire to fly, to be able to soar away from what limits, enslaves and overwhelms us. The leaf motifs at the bottom of the painting allude to nature and its remarkable ability to rebirth every year in spring.
Yet, the woman, the central figure in the painting, demands attention. Her placement at the centre of the orbit evokes the atomic structure, the fundamental components of the cosmos. The atom’s nucleus represents the origin of all existence, encompassing both the physical and existential realms.
“Awakening” narrates a tale of courage in decision-making. It is a story of the beginning of a new life. Dynamic and thought-provoking, the painting urges viewers to recognize the necessity of movement—in every sense of the word—in fostering positive change, while stagnation means fear and acquiescence to circumstances contrary to one’s true desires. The painting is an expression of the artist’s protest, his disagreement with such fear.
“Awakening” was created specifically for the exhibition “WOMEN – contemporary artists in memory of Anna Bilinska”, presented at the Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom, in 2022, dedicated to a remarkable woman, a brilliant Polish artist and painter. It is a tribute to an outstanding, strong, creative woman, resolutely walking her chosen path and steadfastly pursuing her goals and dreams.
