The “Incomplete” triptych is a visual reflection on human deficiencies—those that arise from trauma and those that shape our identity. The inspiration for this series came from a lecture by Robert Rutkowski on individuals marked by a difficult childhood, people who are internally “incomplete,” driven by instincts because they never learned to manage their emotions in a healthy and conscious way.

The chrysalis and its lateral mutations serve as a visual metaphor for this state—transition, transformation, but also a kind of entrapment in an unfinished form. I distort the body to bring out what is most human—its structure, physicality, and at the same time, a hidden beauty that often becomes visible only upon prolonged observation.

Using a cosmic metaphor, one could say that these photographs represent a certain retrogradation in nude photography—an apparent reversal of classical beauty standards, portraying the body in a “grotesque,” deformed manner. Yet, the longer we look at them, the more we begin to perceive their harmony and aesthetic quality.

A key reference for this deformation is also Freud’s concept of the life drive (Eros). It pushes us toward physicality, toward an instinctual need for closeness, even when we lack reason, reflection, and self-awareness. In the three frames that compose this cycle, the body is symbolically distorted—the lower part of the figure is accentuated, almost animalistic in its weight and mass, while the absence of a head highlights the lost element of rationality. It is a metaphor for those guided by instinct, unable to fully govern themselves—incomplete, yet beautiful in their imperfection.

This is a story about the body, the soul, and absence—but also about transformation and the possibility of rediscovering oneself.

Kamila J Gruss