Jedrzejczak
“Ego is a vessel in which our “self” is contained. It should be concise, have a strong foundation and serve us well. If it’s too fragile, badly demarcated, the world penetrates our inside, making it hard for us to be ourselves. If it’s too rigid, overdeveloped, it stops to serve us as well. A weak or over-inflated ego seeks affirmation of itself, takes control over us, we start to overly identify with it. This is how a “false self” comes into being. If we incessantly take care of ourselves, we lose touch with other people. An egotist, hypochondriac or narcissistic person is incapable of true love. To develop a healthy ego, a child needs admiration in the eyes of its parents, as well as a mirror where to affirm its reflection; then it strengthen its identity by seeing itself in the social mirror, in the eyes of other people. If our reflection absorbs us too much or we are avoiding it at all cost, then ego has taken control of us. Taking part in Jedrzejczak’s exhibition may help us answer the question: Who am I really? What is beneath that mask, beneath the role I play? What are the true motives of my actions, apart from making a desired impression on others? Can I forget myself enough to “love rather than just seek somebody to love me”? (Text: Psychologist Jacek Santorski)”