Natalia Fundowicz (b. 1991, Krakow), "Maria Kwasniewska," 2023.

Biography
The work for the Herstory project came about very naturally, as it fits perfectly both aesthetically and thematically with the art I have been creating for years. I myself am most inspired by female silhouettes from old photographs and everything associated with femininity. I see in them strength, determination, extraordinary sensitivity, beauty, movement, life. I mainly depict them in the form of the nude, because there I find the forms I need to express them most fully.

I could easily be inspired by almost any of the chosen heroines, while it fell to Maria Kwasniewskaya, whose herstory impressed me enormously. She achieved a lot in the professional field, was a very talented athlete, and later devoted her life to helping people during the war. She returned to the occupied country and thus showed great courage. I wanted to depict Maria Kwasniewskaya's silhouette in a nude form close to my own, but in a narrowed, even monochromatic color palette that brought to mind old photographs. The pose is proud and brave, like a monument that all Herstory heroines deserve.