Arteriosum

The solo exhibition of Katarzyna Klich, an artist affiliated with the University of the Arts in Poznań, presents a large-scale sculptural form expanding within the gallery space. The artist writes about her work: “I touch the skin of my neck with my fingertips—it quivers, it pulses, therefore I am. In the same way, a nurse kneads the inside of my arm, trying to find a vein before inserting the needle. An artery, a bodily tunnel—the beginning of everything.” “A birch tree sprouted on my balcony, and later another one in the same pot. I wanted to replant it so it could grow more freely. It turned out they were connected by a root. When I severed it and separated the plants, the younger one began to wither.” The Latin title of the exhibition refers to a medical eponym—ligamentum arteriosum, a term from anatomy and physiology that describes a fused blood vessel connecting the aortic arch with the pulmonary trunk. It is a remnant of the ductus arteriosus, which physiologically and anatomically closes shortly after birth.