Karolina Wiktor: Exploring Post-Stroke Motherhood in Warsaw

Visual artist Karolina Wiktor is exploring the intersection of disability, parenting, and communication in her exhibition Cartography of Motherhood, currently on view at Zachęta – National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. Running from February 20 to May 3, 2026, the exhibition examines the experience of motherhood from the perspective of a woman living with post-stroke aphasia.

The exhibition focuses on the challenges of parenting for women with disabilities and the process of regaining agency in a world that may not recognize non-traditional forms of language. Wiktor’s work is informed by her own medical history; she suffered strokes starting in 2009 when an aneurysm ruptured, resulting in the loss of her spoken language.

Developing a New Language

For Wiktor, whose artistic practice was previously centered on writing, performance, and communication, the onset of aphasia necessitated a complete shift in her creative operations. Over a 15-year period, she transitioned from verbal communication to a visual and physical vocabulary consisting of drawings, gestures, rhythms, and sounds.

A central element of this transition is the Font of Absences. This alphabet was created during bouts of aphasia and consists of unfinished and illegible letters. These forms serve as a physical record of the brain’s effort to communicate visually when speech is no longer available.

The exhibition allows visitors to engage directly with this work by touching the alphabet and creating their own drawings, providing a tactile experience of the artist’s communicative process.

The Educational Community of Mother and Daughter

The narrative of the exhibition is anchored in the relationship between Wiktor and her daughter, Iga. Together, they established what Wiktor calls an EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY OF MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, a space defined by mutual learning, care, and attentiveness.

In this partnership, daily domestic rituals and everyday gestures became a form of rehabilitation. The two developed a shared language built from drawings and small rituals of daily life over fifteen years.

Within the gallery space, children’s drawings function as directions on a map of motherhood. Wiktor has utilized this process to establish her place in the world and regain her agency.

Exhibition Details and Collaboration

The exhibition is curated by Katarzyna Kołodziej-Podsiadło, with architecture design provided by Maciej Sierpień of Kibera Studio. We see presented in cooperation with several individuals and organizations, including:

• Center of the Inclusive Art / Theater 21 (exhibition partner)
• Iga Wiktor-Rypson
• Konrad Kordas
• Wiktoria Kuchta
• Lidia Magiera
• Paweł Mendera
• Piotr Pryk
• Aneta Szymaszek
• Agata Wajda
• Małgorzata Walaszczyk

Through this body of work, Wiktor addresses the visibility of people with neurological impairments and the developmental potential that exists even when established forms of communication are rendered impossible by illness.