Paula Malinowska - BRANCHING LIGHT AND THE FLICKERS OF A DAWN

BRANCHING LIGHT AND THE FLICKERS OF A DAWN

12 min short 3D animated film. 2024.

"In her project for the Oskar Čepán Award 2024, Paula Malinowska explores the fascinating phenomena of synchronous behaviour of fireflies by linking scientific research with artistic imagination. Her 3D animated film works with elements of documentary fiction and ecofiction, reflecting on themes such as mass species extinction, light pollution and the limits of human perception and communication. Malinowska exposes the limits of human cognition by highlighting that the light signals fireflies emit are a rich and complex communication channel that is unreadable to human sensory apparatus. Based on the concept of the "Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold", she shows how different perceptions of time and light between humans and other organisms underscore hidden secrets to humanity. “Branching Light and the Flickers of a Dawn” represents the final part of a triptych in which she explores non-human protagonists and offers a poetic reflection on the mysteries of nature. Through her work, Malinowska raises questions about the consequences of human interference in the environment and invites viewers to reflect on the fragility of life and the diversity of modes of communication and the specific experience of living on planet Earth. Bringing together science, art and fiction, this project is a profound invitation to rethink our relationship with the non-human world.”

- Denis Kozerawski, curator of Oskar Čepan Award 2024 exhibition

CREDITS: soundscape: Andrej Žabkay, video editing: Vladimíra Vrbiňáková, voice: Ema Klubisová, technical support and consultations: András Cséfalvay, Zuzana Panák Husárová

Across Endless Moments of Fading Dreams, I'll Keep the Night a Little Longer For You. Oskar Čepan Award 2024 exhibition. Pistori Palace, Bratislava. 2025. Photo by Leontína Berková