Loneliness

The work is square in format. It consists of the number “1” written in evenly spaced lines; the digits at all edges of the square are cut off, suggesting continuation beyond the board. In mathematics, the number “1” is “the loneliest number” because it cannot be classified either as a composite number divisible by other numbers or, in the conventional sense, as a prime number requiring division by two numbers: itself and one; it was therefore aptly chosen by the author as a symbol visualising the concept of loneliness. The work has been presented both as black digits on a white background and as white digits on a black background, in many versions: as a typescript on paper, a photographic print, an exhibition board with digits handwritten in ink on Bristol board, and printed on paper. There is also a related work by Barbara Kozłowska: Spatial Interpretation of Stanisław Dróżdż’s Structural Poetry “Loneliness” (Wrocław).