Woods 2010-2016

The forest from Natalia Kopytko's installation is full of inner, spiritual life. It is inhabited by creatures and spirits that evoke sympathy, but also by sinister demons. The artist refers to beliefs and legends that have survived in various versions. Almost every mythology has an equivalent of a forest spirit: the Slavs believed in Wyszymory, in Irish mythology the forest spirits were Sídhe, and in Japanese culture - Kodama. In this way, the artist evokes the memory of the original nature, which today we find only in literature, songs, and folk tales - confesses Ewa Służyńska. Natalia Kopytko's project is not only a story about man's distance from nature. It is also a very conscious statement about the complicated influences and relationships regarding our natural environment. It contains both an upbeat version of events and something bitter straight from dystopia: Man should protect the forest, but when he is gone, the forest will cope without him.