ZBIGNIEW LIBERA – Electric Womb. Amphoras and drawings

In 1991, Zbigniew Libera created the work “The Bather”—its title refers to the way funeral home workers describe deceased individuals during the preparation for burial. The work, ending with a monitor, was constructed from stitched pieces of plastic, shaped into a tube. In 1993, the artist began work on another installation using a similar technique. The concept of the work Amphorae (1993-2024) involves introducing a low-voltage electric current into its interior. The creation of an ‘artificial womb,’ where electricity represents a kind of potential to create new life, evokes thoughts of Mary Shelley’s famous novel Frankenstein. The figure of the mad scientist who brings a corpse to life using an electric impulse can be interpreted in the context of ‘womb envy.’ Womb envy is a term coined by American psychoanalyst Karen Horney as an alternative to Freud’s famous ‘penis envy.’ Horney explained that men’s activity in the public sphere, related to helping others, is a result of this womb envy, arising from the inability to satisfy the need for organic creation of life.

Both Amphorae and the series of drawings Mutations of Tools from the 1990s intriguingly explore the relationship between culture and nature. How would tools like a drill behave if they evolved organically, in accordance with Darwin’s theory of evolution? Are the tools created within Western civilization and patriarchal culture inherently flawed compared to the creations of nature? Do men need female predecessors?