four-screen animation, 1’25’’, installation, sound

The work originates from a feminist reinterpretation of Indian Summer (Babie lato, 1895) by Józef Chełmoński, conceived through a creative dialogue with the Polish artist Anna Tyczyńska. In Poland, Indian Summer is one of the country’s most frequently reproduced paintings and regularly appears in internet memes and ironic photomontages referring
to representations of Ukrainians.

In response to negative comments concerning the nationality of the painting’s protagonist, Shumska deconstructs entrenched stereotypes by portraying a Ukrainian woman not as a passive symbol but as an independent individual confronting both the realities of war and media pressure. By embodying the animated protagonist herself, the artist “faces the threat,” metaphorically putting her “a room of one’s own” in order as it is being occupied by colonial invaders. The animation combines documentary material with grotesque staging, creating
a space between memory and the lived experience of imminent danger.

The project reinterprets a canonical image through the lens of contemporary history, emphasizing the active role of women and their importance in shaping a shared identity in the face of war and global catastrophe.

Presentations:

2025 – Between the (Un)imaginable and the Real, CSW Łaźnia, Gdańsk, Poland
2023 – 7th Gdańsk Biennale of Art, Gdańsk City Gallery GGM, Poland
2022 – Conversations. A great journey across many borders, languages and cultures, Stary Browar, Poznań, Poland