After Rembrandt, before dinner by Sylwia Zawiślak

This work incorporates fragments of my linocut reinterpretation of Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, in which all the figures are women. The original print has been transferred onto a series of plates — objects of care, labour, and repetition. The once solemn scene of scientific mastery is translated into a domestic gesture: the act of washing, serving, preparing. The damaged, incomplete prints evoke how women’s creative work is often undervalued, seen as “craft” rather than “art.” 

Sylwia Zawiślak (b. 1991) is an interdisciplinary visual artist whose practice centers on printmaking, with a particular focus on linocut. Her work weaves together personal experiences of migration with reflections on global social tensions, exploring the intersections of power, identity, and representation. Through bold visual language and technical precision, Zawiślak addresses the complexities of contemporary life, from decolonial narratives to the critique of emotional capitalism and online mythologies.

Her artistic approach often extends beyond individual creation into the realm of participation and collaboration. She conducts workshops and community-based projects in which printmaking becomes both a medium and a method of dialogue, empowerment, and collective storytelling. This socially engaged dimension of her practice seeks to reclaim silenced narratives and transform shared experiences into acts of creative resistance.

This artwork was part of THE HOUSE WE CARRY exhibition in November 2025.