Mandala

The mandala is, besides the likeness of the Buddha himself, the most recognizable image associated with Buddhist culture. On an iconographical level, it is composition based on the circle and the square with a figure or divine symbol in the centre. It is often described as an ideal design, a reflection of the universe or a guide to the complicated path of psycho-physical transformation. In Zofia Kulik’s work, however, the mandala is free of such connotations. The artist merely appropriates the composition’s simple, geometric layout. The term mandala has another meaning, which is better reflected in Kulik’s photographic works. Olivier Wolters, a political historian specializing in Asia, uses the term to describe the distribution of power in the historical countries of Southeast Asia. He defines mandala as a “circle of kings” or a network of centres of power that are connected by common interdependencies.

The collages in the monumental composition reveal a nude man caught in rigid poses. His image is treated ornamentally while his gesture and the position of the scarf he is holding make reference to the iconography of authority and of holiday church fairs (e.g. pictures of saints and pilgrims’ souvenirs).* His nakedness compels us to view him as defenseless; his body, contorted in forced poses, is uneasy and oppressed. The references to the mandala’s political contexts and the means by which the human figure is portrayed introduce themes related to power, which shapes the identity of the figure through disciplining the body and mind. Allusions to totalitarian systems and their impact on human life lie at the foundation of Mandala.

Kulik exposes the mechanisms of authority as it is perceived in political, religious and social terms and points out that humans escaping one system often fall prey to another. The artist asks about freedom and about whether a social, spiritual or political state described as free can really exist. Kulik’s work can also be read in a context of feminist criticism. Power is understood in gender-based terms and it is linked with masculinity in European culture. Yet, the way the man is depicted in the work does not comply with these categories. Although the man is making gestures that are associated with the iconography of power, he is shown in a grotesque light as a helpless and passive object of manipulation.

Izabela Kopania

*  For more on Mandala’s references to visual culture at large, see Zofia Kulik, An Iconographic Guide to “All the Missiles are One Missile”, Warsaw 1997.