2025
object / mobile

Martyna Kielesińska’s Merry-Go-Round reflects on the emotional labour performed by caregivers. Acts of care are characterised by repetition, regularity and a heavy emotional burden. Those who take on such responsibilities often operate under conditions of limited autonomy: their work does not end when the designated hours are over, and the boundaries between personal and professional time become blurred. The parent–child relationship is particularly demanding in this context – caregiving parents may experience helplessness and sorrow while striving to maintain composure and demonstrate strength.

The Aniołki district is home to numerous care-related institutions, whose presence invites reflection on the nature of caregiving work. The installation features metal forms inspired by human silhouettes in motion, symbolising the constant rhythm of work and effort. These figures are entwined with ivy made of metal – a material that contrasts with the plant’s ephemeral nature. The ivy serves as a metaphor for the invisibility of care work: just as the plant covers unused or abandoned surfaces, emotional and caregiving labour permeates everyday life while remaining in the background of society.

The work draws on the theory of Alva Gotby, who situates care within the broader framework of reproductive labour – the system that sustains the social and emotional foundations of life, yet remains undervalued and largely invisible. Gotby observes that the emotional engagement required in such work is not merely a matter of individual empathy, but a structural element of society itself, in which care and support form the unseen infrastructure that underpins the world of work and production.

MARTYNA KIELESIŃSKA is a visual artist and educator. She graduated from the Faculty of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków and also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and at the Berlin University of the Arts in the class of Hito Steyerl. She creates objects, videos, performances and installations, and sometimes develops site-specific situations. In her work, she addresses themes related to aggression, objectification and the pressure to conform to social roles and expectations. Kielesińska is interested in the mechanisms that generate consumer needs, as well as in visual language and the principles by which it functions. She often works with found materials.