Endsville
Karolina Partyka
Master of Art

Endsville
As study of Utopia, 'Endsville' uses public domain footage to attempt to understand the psychology behind Utopian delusions. The piece includes 4 Utopias - Nowa Huta, Poland (Communism’s first city built to Lenin’s vision), 1960s hippy communes, 1940s/50s American atomic age capitalism, and ‘good old days’ Australia. Delusional optimism has long been an interest for Partyka given her familial history of multiple abuses and trauma at the hands of Nazi forces during the occupation of Poland as well as during Communist rule. Understanding the way that societies can be manipulated with fantasy and mythological narrative to the point of no return is a key focus for 'Endsville'. By juxtaposing seemingly disparate ideologies, 'Endsville' reveals commonalities between various belief systems and societies, and seeks to find the core of what drives humans to eternally seek Utopia, despite history’s numerous, often disastrous, failures.