The clinic with the cave-shape effect

solo exhibition in gallery ANEKS of Contemporary Art Gallery in Opole
curator: Natalia Krawczyk

Art is an alternative cognitive method, which, despite the fact that it is not considered a science, accumulates knowledge and sometimes manifests its ability to influence reality. Maria Bitka directly transposes the process of creating art onto the context of research activity, namely onto a medical examination.
By creating an alternative medicine practice, the artist creates a situation which, because of the context in which it occurs – inside a gallery – causes some consternation and provokes some questions – does alternative medicine only work on the basis of the placebo effect? If so, what exactly is a placebo? Can something incapable of causing real change, directly influence what we call objective reality?
There are more and more questions and no answer is sure. The information used by the artist to create her work are taken from the internet – there is no certainty as to their authenticity. On the other hand, is the conventional medical research convincing, is it focuses on the treatment of individual organs’ diseases in isolation from the human psyche and the holistic view of the human being? Or perhaps a symbolic diagnosis has a positive impact on the health and well-being of the „patient”, maybe there are some unknown energies, which we cannot name or examine, because our senses are not enough for us, and maybe the whole issue is completely different?
The artist invites the public to undergo an examination of mysterious, elusive impact. It is a situation analogous to that associated with the perception of a work of art, we are only presented by the work of art with what we bring along as our expectations.

Cabinet offered the following treatments:
Esthetoscope-based examination
EPS radiation treatment
Audio wonders

more information about these treatment you can find in magazine CABINET