Can the viewer’s gaze have agency? Can identifying with an image transform the spectator into its double—a mirror reflection that co-creates the meaning of the performing body?

Created specifically for the exhibition Marilyn Monroe. I Feel Like I Know Her, but Sometimes My Arms Bend Back, The One Behind Me sees Paulina Pawłowska explore the continuously shifting nature of identity, questioning the possibility of authenticity and whether knowledge of the self is ever fully accessible—even to the subject itself.

Drawing on the archetype of the “beautiful dead young girl full of secrets”—a figure that forms the exhibition’s narrative backdrop—the artist creates a choreography of tensions between promise, revelation, and refusal. Rather than offering resolution, the performance uncovers ever deeper layers of an unknowable mystery.

In The One Behind Me, Pawłowska continues her exploration of sexuality, the politics of the gaze, and power relations through the lens of philosophy and queer-feminist theory. The performance focuses on the dynamic between body and gaze as it emerges in the negotiation between viewer and viewed. Its point of departure is both the aforementioned archetype and Laura Mulvey’s reflections on identification and scopophilia in Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. Although written fifty years ago, Mulvey’s ideas continue to resonate with the exhibition’s exploration of image politics, projection, and the construction of female identity. Interweaving the pleasure of looking with solitude, the performance guides the audience toward the experience of the double, only to ultimately leave them in a state of unknowing.

Audience advisory: This performance contains nudity and intense audiovisual stimuli, including loud sound and strobe lighting. Visitors with sensory sensitivities or photosensitive conditions are advised to take this into consideration before attending.

Performance featuring  The Vanity Project by Vanity Productions feat. Merzbow, live sound design by @digital.data_ and styling by Karla Palacios.

Date: Friday, 24 July 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Tickets: PLN 35 / 25 | Buy tickets online
Venue: Krupa Art Foundation (Rynek 27/28, Wrocław)
Duration: Approximately 1 hour