Magdalena Moskwa explores the relationship between the body and the spiritual realm. She perceives the human body as a ‘vessel for the spirit’, a kind of reliquary. She does not reproduce the body’s external appearance, but strives to capture the inner psychological states recorded on the surface of the skin. In her oil portraits she sought to convey the energy of a living body. She soon replaced the painting ground with chalk gesso, which allowed her to capture the softness and warmth of the flesh. The impression of sensuality was further enhanced by the glazing technique. The portraits were followed by close-ups of individual parts of the body, such as hands and fingers. Over time, the relief-treated canvas support began to resemble a body with openings revealing fragments of its interior. The artist gradually drew nearer to the surface of the skin, eventually transcending it into a sculptural object. Untitled, 81 resembles an open wound fragment of a body covered in silver-coloured aluminium leaf with edges reminiscent of bloody tissue. In an interview, Moskwa said: ‘I want to demystify this for myself and others. the guts, the mucous membranes in my paintings shimmer like pearls and reflect rainbow colours, they are almost perfect, like relics or jewels. . . . It’s enough to forget that entrails are disgusting to see their true, disturbing beauty.’ By means of their organic presence, her paintings and sculptures aim to familiarise the viewer with the reality of the body, to evoke empathy and shivers.