Mikołaj Sobczak

This painting captures the raw energy and intensity of an anti-abortion protest, with a crowd of demonstrators holding up seemingly blank signs. From a distance, these placards appear blank, but closer examination reveals intricate details from 16th-century engravings, drawn from the book ‘WITCHCRAFT and the Gay Counterculture’ by Arthur Evans'. The engravings, many of which were propaganda images created to incite fear and justify witch hunts, add a haunting historical depth to the contemporary scene.

The book referenced by Sobczak explores the intersection of witchcraft and marginalized identities, tracing how witch hunts in Europe targeted not only women but also those who challenged the rigid social and sexual norms of the time. Propaganda images of the time were designed to fuel hysteria, depicting witches as dangerous, deviant figures. These images were tools of control, used to vilify and persecute those whose independence or defiance posed a challenge to patriarchal structures.

Sobczak’s decision to incorporate these engravings into the protest placards is a deliberate commentary on the continuity of social repression, linking historical persecution with modern struggles for bodily autonomy and LGBTQ+ rights. The distorted, anguished faces of the protesters are a visual echo of those once condemned in the witch hunts. By layering the anti-abortion protest with this historical imagery, Sobczak draws a powerful parallel between the witch hunts of the past and the modern fight against oppressive laws and societal expectations.