2007 / 2010
Performance, 23.48 min
Film, HDV, 23.48 min
Kunstakademie Münster, Elizabeth Foundation, New York

In Love’s Surrogates, Marcin delivers a speech about “her” childhood from atop a closet, before leaping onto a giant dog sculpture via a mini-trampoline. This performance uncovers the character’s private struggles, creating a tense atmosphere that invites the viewer to engage and reflect.

Reading aloud from a teenage girl’s diary, Marcin opens a window into intimate, curious stories about growing up. The diary entries invite the audience into the world of a young girl, where the transition to womanhood is marked not only by attraction but by the complexities of love and relationships. Through her words, she reveals her experiences with boys, presenting love as something more complicated and different from what she expected.

As Marcin stands on the closet— symbolizing privacy—she speaks about “her” emotional roller coaster, from family conflicts to the power dynamics of teenage love. Marcin channels the unpredictable emotional world of adolescence, pushing the audience to consider their own perspectives on “her” experiences. Each part of the speech is punctuated with humor as she repeatedly leaps onto the giant dog sculpture, using it as a soft landing pad. The performance culminates with Marcin selecting a man from the audience, sitting him down, and embracing him intimately, only for the moment to shift dramatically when a tango dancer enters, leading Marcin away in a dynamic dance through the crowd.