They have no pictures on the wall IX, 100x80 cm, oil on linen, 2021.

“The act of setting up pictures on the walls is a way to appropriate space. It is a way to say, from this very threshold, within these walls, I belong. What I like, what I feel, what I project myself into is around me, for me. But when a home has no pictures on its walls, it leaves a peculiar feeling: who lives there and why are the walls empty? 
The title of the exhibition They have no pictures on the walls stems from a discussion between artist Lukas Bury and an Icelandic acquaintance of his. They were surprised not to see pictures on the walls in the homes of Polish people they know. 
This comment resonated deeply with Bury and Weronika Balcerak, who started a project together consisting of an exhibition and a publication, exploring and documenting the Polish community in Iceland. In their research, they tackle not only stereotypes present in Iceland but also surpass their own presumptions about the Polish community, which leads them to raise new questions about the dynamics of a minority. 
The first outcome of this research is the exhibition at RÝMD presenting a series of paintings by Bury and an installation by Balcerak. 
The series of 10 paintings are, in a way, a reflection of the comment; they depict homes of Polish people living in Iceland and we discover that some people do have pictures on their walls, while some don’t. But more than that, it is the feeling of being suspended between different cultures and locations that are explored in this project. Maybe some people, when moving to another country, do not know how long they will stay and this question might remain unanswered for years. Some do know; some have made very precise plans that might or might not be fulfilled. Each home is different, and each painting focuses on different details and conceptions of a private space. 

Where do we stand in a brand new place? How do we make the place we live in ours? How long do we have to stay in a place before it is ours? What makes the feeling of home? Can we have multiple homes?”

Claire Paugam, Curator
Photos: Magda Typiak