Transformation and Transition: On the Liberal Politics of Visibility in Polish Art During the Transformation Period Through the Lens of Alicja Żebrowska’s Works

This article examines the visual strategies of representing trans women in 1990s body art, as well as the critical reception of these depictions. It offers a close analysis of two series of works by Alicja Żebrowska: „Onone. Świat po świecie” [Onone. A World after the World] (1995–1999) and „Kiedy inny staje się swoim” [When the Other Becomes One of Us] (1998–2002), alongside their accompanying texts. Adopting a feminist and materialist perspective (Heaney 2017, Gabriel 2024), we follow the process of stripping trans femininity of its materi-al contingencies in order to construct a symbolic figure of systemic transformation. As we demonstrate, this allegorical distillation of trans femininity is predicated on a conventional understanding of the body as an object deprived of agency and subjected to perpetual manip-ulation within the paradigm of so-called critical art. Consequently, trans individuals are posi-tioned as the “Other” – not only outside the social order but also beyond the framework of sexual difference. The epistemological horizon of these representations is shaped by a teleo-logical and liberal conception of inclusion, predicated on greater visibility of marginalized sub-jects in mainstream media, public imagery (e.g. billboard campaigns), and ultimately, within the sphere of art. However, as we argue, this model of visibility operates at the expense of trans individuals as autonomous subjects, actively experiencing and participating in historical transformations. In conclusion, we contextualize the emergence of new representations of transgender identity in relation to evolving – and oppressive – legal frameworks that structure the conditions of trans women’s lives (Debińska 2020, Charkiewicz 2009).