Passion and Discipline looks at the manipulative power of words and images, in this case in the world of politics. The project involves an imaginary election campaign by the artist’s alter ego, Sylwia Synthetic, and makes use of two basic motifs corresponding to the two words in the work’s title. “Discipline” is a reference to the ever-present yearning for an authoritarian power that will implement order and resolve all the problems that democracy has failed to manage. This level of meaning is expressed through references to visual language and symbolism of National Socialismus. “Passion” brings up the issue of gender, i.e., sex and its ubiquitous presence in the world of public images. Politics, however, is perhaps the last remaining field where eroticism is still taboo – in fact, when associated with a commanding dominatrix, it takes on a rather perverse form. This combination results in a bizarre political platform, concentrated into an aggressive but empty slogan wrapped in an attractive visual style.
Marcel Fišer