SVRSVM CORDA, 2020–2021
4'36", loop

SVRSVM CORDA (Latin: lift your hearts up) is the opening dialogue to the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer or Anaphora in the liturgies of the Christian Church. The inscription is engraved at the pedestal of the monument of Christ carrying a cross in front of The Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw. The figure turns his hand upwards and seems to call out to Varsovians: Sursum corda! – Hearts up! In the era of the national revival and during difficult years of post-uprising repression, the gesture of Christ (apart from its sacred significance) had an important political meaning. It was similar during the occupation, reconstruction of Warsaw, and the gloomy Stalinist times. He still reminds everyone walking by to not lose hope in their lives. A Polish LGBTQ+ protestor could be jailed for hanging rainbow flags on the statue. Three activists were arrested for draping flags over five statues, including one of Jesus carrying the cross. Protestors could face up to two years in jail for offending people’s religious feelings “by outraging in public an object of religious worship”, as well as a fine or community service for the second crime of profaning a monument. It is not a single case. In 2019 hundreds of Polish gay rights activists staged a protest rally over the brief detention of a woman who posted images of the Virgin Mary with her halo painted to resemble the rainbow flag of the LGBTQ+ community. Police raided her home in Warsaw. At first, she remained free but could face up to two years in prison if charged with offending religious beliefs. The politically biased investigation against her was recently resumed. In a nutshell, the Polish nationalist regime uses the strategy of 'common enemy to not lose power. The animation you see consists of digital graphics made with help of a self-replicating artificial intelligence algorithm seeded with a rainbow motif used in Christian iconography through centuries. A rainbow was set as a covenant between God and humans. The picture is the alliance between me and artificial intelligence and resistance facing the Polish regime's oppression against queer society. A few years ago the narrative considering the rainbow as an offensive symbol was set by them. Reset the approach and let the machine speak.