Art is on the Front Lines as Protests Continue in Poland Over Strict Abortion Laws
By Lindsay Inglis
Protests in Poland erupted in October after the court decided to tighten the already strict laws on abortion. Women and their allies have since taken to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to the court, and the protests have not stopped. Art has had a continuous involvement in these protests and reflects the strength of these women fighting for their rights.
Protests in Wroclaw, Poland on October 26, 2020. Courtesy of ABC News
Abortions in Poland are legal under three circumstances: when pregnancy poses a threat to the mother’s health, pregnancy caused by rape or incest and when there are fetal abnormalities. 1,074 of the 1,100 legal abortions performed in Poland in 2019 were due to fetal abnormalities. The court has now ruled to take fetal abnormalities out of the list of legal reasons, making nearly all abortions illegal in Poland.
Most women seeking an abortion in Poland either have to go abroad or have it done illegally. Even when women are within the specifications to have a legal abortion, doctors are allowed to refuse them on religious grounds, the same grounds doctors use for refusing birth control.
“The tribunal’s judgement of abortion law is devastating and condemns women in Poland to suffering on many levels. Primarily, it takes away the possibility of making decisions about ourselves, and self-determination makes us free people,” Ola Jasionowska, a graphic designer based in Warsaw, explained in an interview with Artnet News.
Women and their allies continue to protest in the streets every few days in Poland, many chanting: “I think, I feel, I decide.” They have endured tear gas, police brutality, court orders and a rise in Covid-19 infections. Still, the protests have not stopped.
Ola Jasionowska, Strajk Kobiet, 2016. Courtesy of Artnet.com
At the heart of the protest is the symbol of the red lightning bolt. Created by Jasionowska, the lightning bolt was originally apart of a poster depicting a woman’s
silhouette. Jasionowska was aiming to create a female image that all women could relate to, regardless of race, age, or social status. The original posters were used by protesters, and slowly the image was reduced to the singular red lightning bolt.
“The lightning bolt represents the power of women and is a warning to the government,” stated Jasionowska. She believes that it is easier for people from different communities to come together with an easily recognizable symbol.
Over the past two weeks there has been an introduction of another artwork into the protests. Barbara Kruger has allowed new editions of Your Body is a Battleground to be printed in collaboration with the TARFO Center for Contemporary Art. These posters are now being displayed throughout Szczecin for all passers-by to see. Kruger initially created the posters in 1989 for the Women’s March in Washington D.C. – which was also in an effort to keep abortions legal in the United States.
Your Body is a Battleground portrays a woman staring at the viewer and challenging the male gaze. While this image is more confrontational than Jasionowska’s silhouette, both artworks represent women’s strength.
“It is both tragic and predictable that the brutal conditions that led to my producing this image so many decades ago are still at work controlling women’s bodies and their access to reproductive care,” Kruger stated in an email to Artnet News.
As long as women’s reproductive rights are challenged, they will protest. The art on the front lines of the protests in Poland tell the same message as the protesters themselves: that women are strong and will not back down.
Barbara Kruger, Your Body is a Battleground (1989/1991) as seen on the streets of Szczecin, Poland. Photo by Andrzej Golc.
Bibliography
Batycka, Dorian. “What’s Behind the Red Lightning Bolt, the Main Symbol of Poland’s Pro-Choice Marches?” The Art Newspaper, 2 November 2020 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/what-s-behind-the-red-lightning-bolt-the-main-symbol-of-poland-s-pro-choice-marches
Brown, Kate. “Meet the Artist Behind the Lightning Bolt Design That Has Become the Symbol of Women’s Rights in an Increasingly Oppressive Poland,” Artnet News, 5 November 2020 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/meet-the-artist-behind-the-lighting-bolt-1921095
Cascone, Sarah. “An Iconic Barbara Kruger Text Piece Has Become a Symbol in the Protest Movement Against Poland’s Strict Anti-Abortion Laws,” Artnet News, 16 December 2020 https://news.artnet.com/art-world/barbara-kruger-abortion-posters-poland-1931906
Pronczuk, Monika. “Why Are There Protests in Poland?” The New York Times, 27 October 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/27/world/europe/poland-abortion-ruling-protests.html
Taub, Amanda. “In Poland, Protests Over Abortion Ban Could Revolutionize Politics,” The New York Times, 7 December 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/world/europe/poland-abortion-protests.html