Exa Axelrad is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Posna and the Royal College of Art. In 2017, she was nominated for two major Polish awards, the Paszpert Polityki and Views Deutsche Bank Foundation Award, and is the recipient of the “Mloda Polska” scholarship. Axelrad has been included in international group exhibitions, most recently at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the National Art Museum of China, Beijing. Recent solo and group exhibiitions include Satis at The Ryder Projects, London, and Shtamah, presented at Wroclaw Contemporary Museum, Poland, and Copperfield Gallery, London, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the National Art Museum of China, Beijing. Eva Axelrad lives and works in London.

In an attempt to understand and trace back the nationalist sentiments of my generation at the time of major political divisions in Poland, I chose to go back to a time and place where we were last the same: to the trzepak – a common structure in many European countries. Originally designed for the purpose of carpet-beating, the trzepak became a default meeting place and stomping ground for youngsters of different generations. In my research I looked into territorial behaviour as one of the deep roots of patriotism, and employed the trzepak as an example of a structure that we used from a very young age to exercise our claim to territory with our bodies.

Ewa Axelrad.