The article examines hybridity by discussing a selection of contemporary artworks (Eva and Franco Mattes, Marguerite Humeau) and theoretical approaches (Benjamin Bratton, Nadim Samman, Piotr Zawojski). The main problems addressed by this paper include hybridity in a post‑media perspective, the hybrid as an aesthetic monster, and cultural hybridity arising from the emergence of artificial intelligence. It is argued that a hybrid can be recognised by the incompatibility of its constituents – once we stop noticing them, the hybrid becomes normality, or the so‑called “new normal.” The concept has been proposed by Benjamin H. Bratton in response to the difficulties in naming the effects of civilizational changes conditioned by the impact exerted by new technologies on our reality in its entirety (referred to as the Technocene by Nadim Samman). Knowing a hybrid, however, does not entail penetrating its meaning. It remains an enigma, reflecting a moment of confusion in which we realise the inadequacy of our vocabulary and experience cognitive anxiety. That moment can be short‑lived, setting the scene for the “new normal.” The vague “in‑between” state perceptible before the hybrid blends into reality can be captured through art, which exemplifies various approaches to the concept of the hybrid.
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, artists have willingly taken more‑than‑human bodies not only as the subject matter of their work, but also as their medium. The article looks at how the understanding of cyborg corporeality, mediated and expanded, manifests in various artistic practices – from Stelarc to the activities of the collectives Grow Your Own Cloud and Forensic Architecture. The basic theoretical tool used in this text is the conceptual figure of the cyborg as proposed by Donna Haraway. Cyborg art is believed to be vir(ac)tual, enacting a certain political myth at the intersection of social reality and fiction, switching between the cybernetic, organic and machine orders.
Alex Israel z Los Angeles i Hito Steyerl z Berlina wykorzystują w pracy sztuczną inteligencję, ale ich poglądy na temat jej roli w społeczeństwie oraz w sztuce są rozbieżne. Prace Alexa Israela wskazują brak zainteresowania artysty negatywnymi skutkami stosowania sztucznej inteligencji, z kolei Hito Steyerl opisuje ją jako narzędzie nie artystów, lecz firm technologicznych, które dążą do tworzenia nowych zależności technologicznych. Autor porównuje postawy obojga artystów, przyglądając się bliżej projektowi Israela i instalacji wideo Hito Steyerl, i analizuje, jakie ryzyko niesie dla twórców korzystanie ze sztucznej inteligencji oraz jak głęboko w nowej technologii jest zakorzeniona władza państwowa i korporacyjna.
The article discusses mystification as a creative method. The author looks at fictional artworks referencing authentic historical events. He indicates that the concept of “archive” has led to the emergence of new artistic practices. He also casts light on the research carried out by artists interested in working with the past, discussing the methods they use to make their mystifications credible, and suggests the reasons why they decide to create such projects. Citing examples from visual arts, design, literature and music from the 20th and 21st centuries, he searches for common principles in the construction of counterfactual narratives.
The article discusses exhibitions organized in Poland that exhibit characteristics aligning them with the tradition of Surrealist displays, with a particular focus on their spatial architecture rather than the thematic content of the works presented. It examines the 1947 exhibition of drawings by Adam Marczyński at the Club of Young Artists and Scholars, the Exhibition of Modern Art held a year later at Kraków's Palace of Art, and the broader context of propaganda exhibitions, within which attempts to incorporate Surrealist elements also emerged. Another exhibition under discussion was conceived at the thaw time: Jerzy Kujawski’s 1957 show at the Krzywe Koło Club. The final examples come from the 1960s: the Popular Exhibition (1963) and the Painting Exhibition of Erna Rosenstein (1967). The exhibitions by Adam Marczyński and Jerzy Kujawski were designed by Marian Bogusz, while the remaining ones were conceived by Tadeusz Kantor.
Similarly to massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), social media are largely operating due to the work performed by their users (e.g. content delivery, commenting, sharing), which, as a consequence, is privatised by the companies that manage those platforms. Taking this as its point of reference, the article offers some remarks on the division of work in the art world. Based on the events related to Maurizio Cattelan’s installation, a perspective has been outlined within which the symbolic and economic value of an installation derives from the circulation of its components – in the media and physical, and the cumulated work, the collective effort expended by many invisible people, primarily the audience.
This article analyses contemporary artistic practices at the intersection of art, scenography, and curating, focusing on the work of Philippe Parreno, Tacita Dean, Grace Ndiritu, and Dominique Gonzalez‑Foerster. Their projects reveal how scenographic thinking has become a vital tool in redefining the exhibition as a space of experience rather than mere contemplation. Scenography no longer serves solely an organizational function—it emerges as a poetic language that operates through lasight, rhythm, and atmosphere, transforming the museum into a porous, living space co‑created by artists. By blurring the boundaries between artwork, choreography, and installation, these artists respond to the need for deeper viewer engagement, as articulated by Boris Groys, who emphasised the importance of turning toward the experience of presence and materiality. As a result, the exhibition becomes a stage of transformation, and scenographic gestures—no longer subordinate but creatively autonomous—are gaining their rightful place in the history of art and curating.
Richard Sennett identifies the reinforcement or creation of flexible zones of interaction and exchange between different social groups as a good practice in urban design—he refers to these zones as “ecotones.” The ability to identify such urban interfaces is demonstrated not only by groups involved in planning, architecture, and urban studies but also by individuals from artistic communities who seek spaces for work and expression, often operating under conditions of limited resources. The challenge of finding a suitable place to pursue their goals stimulates creativity and attentiveness to what already exists in a given area, encouraging the hybridization of established elements and practices with new artistic initiatives. The softening of boundaries and the creation of even temporary ecotones constitute a performative act. The search for and adaptation of space thus become a form of inquiry and prototyping of both the environment and the social norms associated with a given area. I analyze this phenomenon through examples of how art erodes the boundaries of functional zones, blurs the distinction between periphery and center, modifies the dynamics and character of everyday spatial use, and reinterprets the potential of places that have lost their original function.
The article examines the concept of hybridization in postmodern visual culture. In doing so, I would like to interpret the development of the two opposing tendencies, hybrid euphoria and hybrid phobia, within the framework of theory and cultural history. Victor Turner notes in 1982 that the phenomena of impurity are at the center of postmodern thinking. Postmodern theorists have associated transgressive, liberating and critical potential with these phenomena, but it can be seen that the hybrid phobia against postmodernity seems to be intensifying in the theoretical debates concerning contemporary digital culture, which parallels the exhaustion of postmodernism with a strong critique of earlier euphoric assessments and the exhaustion of cultural fantasy regarding contemporary retro and remix culture. In my article, I trace these ideological fronts and aesthetic phenomena.
The starting point for this article is a cosmetology debate about the advantages and disadvantages of decorating nails with hybrid polish. The genealogical thread of the transition in human evolution from claws to nails is also taken up. Nowadays, long and decorated nails are primarily an object of fascination within the culture of nail art, with particular emphasis on the latest highly extravagant designs from London and Tokyo. Gel nail hybrids have a specific emancipatory potential, resulting from an ostentatious reduction of the hand’s usefulness, implying divine idleness. This association leads long‑nailed people to a specific “quantum” transgression of the world of labour. Exposed to hybrid substances, nails and teeth become luminous and transparent, turning into objects of aesthetic contemplation, delight, fascination, but also fetishisation. At the same time, they are an identifier of psychosexual identity in both heteronormative and queer communities.
The artistic community in Poland became interested in culture wars relatively early, around 2004 – some years before the impact of this phenomenon on the Polish society had been analysed by political scientists and sociologists. The year 2010 became a significant turning point in the history of culture wars, exacerbating social polarisation and attitudes towards the modernisation project in the country. It also included contemporary art, which began to be perceived even more sharply as a tool of political struggle and an expression of the degeneration of liberal elites – which clearly influenced the shape of official cultural policy in Poland between 2015 and 2023. This text is an attempt to outline two decades of awareness of the existence of culture wars in the artistic community and struggles with inherent in the logic of this conflict.
