Original artwork description:

“Leaving the place where you grew up feels like the best thing that can happen to you — at least that’s what you think when you’re barely an adult. I thought so too (and maybe I still do, I’m not sure). At some point though, you decide to settle somewhere new. I tell myself: ‘Just for a while,’ ‘Until I find something else.’

I walk through this new home of mine, learning it little by little. I know my neighbors’ names, I know where the chestnut trees grow, and where I can find silence. When someone asks if I’m from here, I answer quickly: ‘No! Not from here!’ I’m afraid of being from here instead of from my old home — what if I never know this place the way I knew the one I grew up in?

I tell myself this place is my enemy. But maybe it isn’t the place at all?”**

About the painting:
This work captures that restless tension of belonging and not belonging. The composition shows the quiet yet striking silhouette of a mine shaft, where familiar details feel at once known and alien. Muted tones and strong contrasts create an atmosphere of unease, echoing the feeling of searching for home.

Materials and technique:
Oil on canvas, with layered brushstrokes that leave visible texture. The surface plays with light differently depending on the time of day, bringing depth to the muted palette.

Size and placement:
120x90cm or 47.2 × 35.4 in – large enough to command presence on a living room wall, yet intimate enough for a hallway or study.

Practical details:
The canvas comes ready to hang. Carefully packaged and shipped with full tracking, so it arrives safely at your door.

Exhibited in: "Endurlings. The End of the City", Warsaw, 2025; "5 Years after the Diploma", Lublin, 2025.

Materials used:

Oil paint on canvas

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