The title Monika Szpener gave her most recent work - "odNowa" ("reNew" or "aNew" in Polish) - also appears to be an authorial name, a proposed term for the process of artistic recycling. The specific spelling of this word makes it possible to be read in two ways. Renewing - is bringing something back to life, undoing the destruction, restoration, reconstruction. Anew - means to start something again, to set a new beginning. The name also opens up other contexts. Renewal is an important term in religious context, where it means purification, change or transformation. Recalling this aspect appears to be important due to the forms that Monika Szpener uses in her current project. "Renewal" is also very popular in modern-day secular field, as "biological renewal", or wellness treatment, comprising activities and services offered by beauty salons and sports facilities. This is where the "recreational" aspect of the work leads us: swimming pool, workout, relaxation. A swimming pool with a figure of Christ jumping from a springboard, a picnic basket, are all "trophies" of a consumerist life. Could it be that renewal, here in bodily, physical dimension, was only possible thanks to advanced consumption?

Lena Wicherkiewicz