Face Agnosia – Diploma Series

The diploma drawing series was developed around the phenomenon of face agnosia, also known as prosopagnosia — a neurological condition characterized by the reduced or lost ability to recognize faces. People affected by this disorder can see individual facial features clearly, yet they are unable to assemble them into a coherent whole. This dysfunction is associated with specific areas of the brain, particularly the fusiform gyrus, which is responsible for facial recognition.

This description of the disorder brought to mind an image of contemporary society, where interpersonal relations are increasingly marked by invisible barriers. Prosopagnosia became for me a metaphor for the growing difficulty of perceiving another person as a whole.

Based on interviews with people suffering from prosopagnosia and consultations with neurologists, I created a series of drawings that I called “memory portraits.” The concept of these works emerged from a reflection on the act of approaching another person — also in a literal sense. How close can one face come to another without losing visual clarity? And from such a distance, are we still able to recognize it?

The series received six awards and distinctions:

• Grand Prix – 1st International Student Drawing Triennial, Katowice, Poland
• Distinction for Diploma – Faculty of Graphics and Media Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław, Poland (2013)
• Second Prize – European Pastel Festival, 6th International Pastel Biennial, Nowy Sącz, Poland (2013)
• Mayor of Gdańsk Award – Best Diplomas of the Academies of Fine Arts 2013, Gdańsk, Poland
• Distinction – 8th Contemporary Drawing Triennial, Lubaczów, Poland
• Mayor of Toruń Award – 6th National Drawing Exhibition, Wozownia Gallery, Toruń, Poland (2014)