Living Water, video, 15’42”, 2024
in collaboration with Tomáš Roček
text by Joanna Kobyłt, the curator of The Tample of Tales exhibition in BWA Wrocław:
Living Water film references a philosophical dialogue between a student and a teacher. The conversation takes place between the personified Wilczka stream, which flows through Międzygórze and forms a spectacular 22-meter waterfall there, and a young person concerned about the stream’s future. The central theme of the conversation is the loss and gradual disappearance—drying up—of water in the context of climate and ecological crisis. The Socratic method suggests that one side deliberately pretends to be modest, seemingly seeking guidance from the other, while in reality, the other reveals their flawed or vain views. However, in this case, it is hard to determine which character assumes which role. Julka is rational, using scientific methods, but her perspective on the world seems limited. Meanwhile, Wilczka, although believing in magic, speaks from a position of enduring time that surpasses the human scale and concept of beauty. Wilczka challenges humanity’s need to confine phenomena within narrow definitions, viewing identity as a fluid and multi-threaded structure.
The title of this dreamlike story references a biblical term also known from legends and fairy tales. “Living water” describes a type of miraculous spring, guarded by monsters and demons, that grants strength and immortality, revives the dead, restores sight, and reverses curses and spells.
In July, when the footage for the film was being shot, the water level in the Wilczka stream was extremely low, confirming a hydrological drought that has persisted in Poland since 1981. Now, as I write this text, we are experiencing the most severe consequences of this drought. Międzygórze is currently facing a flood wave, and the Wilczka dam cannot contain the mass of water flowing over it. The Śnieżnik Massif has been heavily deforested in recent years—logging has reduced the mountain area's water retention capacity.
Living Water resonates with Hermann Heinrich’s painting from Sagenhalle titled Foggy Women, which depicts nymphs dancing around the surging Kamieńczyk waterfall after a storm. Its tone is positive, creating a harmonious vision in which, after an intense outburst, a process of returning to balance follows. This mirrors the transformation underscored by the choir singing in the film’s ending, a transformation inherent in the ecological cycle.
Video: Jagoda Dobecka, Tomáš Roček
Women: Marta Sieczkowska, Julia Tkacz
Voices: Zofia Straczycka, Julia Tkacz
Choir: Patryk Dmoch, Jagoda Dobecka, Iwona Ogrodzka, Anita Welter, Agata Żychlińska
Produced by BWA Wrocław
photos: Wojtek Chrubasik
in collaboration with Tomáš Roček
text by Joanna Kobyłt, the curator of The Tample of Tales exhibition in BWA Wrocław:
Living Water film references a philosophical dialogue between a student and a teacher. The conversation takes place between the personified Wilczka stream, which flows through Międzygórze and forms a spectacular 22-meter waterfall there, and a young person concerned about the stream’s future. The central theme of the conversation is the loss and gradual disappearance—drying up—of water in the context of climate and ecological crisis. The Socratic method suggests that one side deliberately pretends to be modest, seemingly seeking guidance from the other, while in reality, the other reveals their flawed or vain views. However, in this case, it is hard to determine which character assumes which role. Julka is rational, using scientific methods, but her perspective on the world seems limited. Meanwhile, Wilczka, although believing in magic, speaks from a position of enduring time that surpasses the human scale and concept of beauty. Wilczka challenges humanity’s need to confine phenomena within narrow definitions, viewing identity as a fluid and multi-threaded structure.
The title of this dreamlike story references a biblical term also known from legends and fairy tales. “Living water” describes a type of miraculous spring, guarded by monsters and demons, that grants strength and immortality, revives the dead, restores sight, and reverses curses and spells.
In July, when the footage for the film was being shot, the water level in the Wilczka stream was extremely low, confirming a hydrological drought that has persisted in Poland since 1981. Now, as I write this text, we are experiencing the most severe consequences of this drought. Międzygórze is currently facing a flood wave, and the Wilczka dam cannot contain the mass of water flowing over it. The Śnieżnik Massif has been heavily deforested in recent years—logging has reduced the mountain area's water retention capacity.
Living Water resonates with Hermann Heinrich’s painting from Sagenhalle titled Foggy Women, which depicts nymphs dancing around the surging Kamieńczyk waterfall after a storm. Its tone is positive, creating a harmonious vision in which, after an intense outburst, a process of returning to balance follows. This mirrors the transformation underscored by the choir singing in the film’s ending, a transformation inherent in the ecological cycle.
Video: Jagoda Dobecka, Tomáš Roček
Women: Marta Sieczkowska, Julia Tkacz
Voices: Zofia Straczycka, Julia Tkacz
Choir: Patryk Dmoch, Jagoda Dobecka, Iwona Ogrodzka, Anita Welter, Agata Żychlińska
Produced by BWA Wrocław
photos: Wojtek Chrubasik