Swings

The painting is an artistic reflection on the widely publicized 2019 installation in which pink seesaws were placed along the US–Mexico border. Magdalena Nowatkowska moves away from documentary literalism, translating this social gesture into her distinctive minimalist visual language.

The juxtaposition of two perspectives – a bird’s-eye view of the border wall and simplified human figures depicted from a conventional viewpoint – creates a deliberate tension. The cold, geometric line of division is disrupted by the seesaws, which become symbols of balance and interdependence. The artist reduces the figures to synthetic visual signs, transforming a specific political situation into a universal narrative about human connection and closeness that can transcend any barrier.