TBG+S Writing Commission 2025 | Gustav Parker Hibbett, 'Pająk'
07 March — 04 May 2025
Gustav Parker Hibbett reads Pająk, a shape poem in response to Katarzyna Perlak's exhibition, Better a bare foot than none.
As TBG+S Commissioned Writer 2025, Gustav Parker Hibbett is creating a series of written responses to the Gallery Programme. The first of these is a shape poem, Pająk, in response to Katarzyna Perlak's exhibition Better a bare foot than none, guest curated by Marysia Więckiewicz-Carroll, 07 March — 04 May.
This shape poem is inspired by Perlak's chandelier-like sculptures which are based on the traditional Polish pająki, historically assembled for Christian, pagan, and folk celebrations and hung as protective symbols in the home. Parker Hibbett's poem echoes Perlak's reimagining of pająki as queer talismans and as emblems of resistance and belonging. Throughout the poem found objects, such as bicycle wheels, clock faces, film negatives, and lottery tickets, used by Perlak are referenced and explored weaving together the personal and the political, nostalgia and possibility. The poem, segmented into four parts, mimics the form of a pająk.
Better a bare foot than none was on view at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios 07 March – 04 May 2025 and is is part of a series of exhibitions responding to shifting political landscapes in Ireland and Poland curated by Marysia Więckiewicz-Carroll.
This short film is by Ros Kavanagh, produced by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.