Pauper 1965

Alina Szapocznikow created 'Pauper' without a known date, using bronze to wrestle with form and feeling. The textured surface of the bronze, it's almost geological, like the inside of a cave, hints at the relentless layering and reworking that Szapocznikow poured into this piece. It is like she built up a geography, a whole world in the studio through some process of modelling and moulding. It's rough. There's something really tactile about this, you can almost feel the artist's hands working that surface into what you see here. Notice how the wheel seems stuck? The figure's position is so vulnerable, bearing the weight of what is above. You get a sense of the body as something worn down by pain, by hardship. The metal seems to speak to the frailty of flesh. Szapocznikow's work sometimes reminds me of Louise Bourgeois, in that both artists explore the strange relationship between the body and lived experience. They are both investigating how we navigate the complexity of life in a body.