Animal Farm. The Law of Animalism

Animal Farm. The Law of Animalism, 2025. A painting from the “Fallen Ideals” project, inspired by George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The project is my personal interpretation of the book. The complete cycle is currently on view at the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola, Alfons Karpiński Gallery, until 15 November 2026. An ekphrasis was created for each painting by the well-known bard Jan Kondrak.

Motif 1

The cat is coaxing the sparrows to come closer, just within reach of his paw; since the Law of Animalism now rules, all animals ought to be friends. He promises, of course, that he will not harm them.

Motif 2

Squealer rushes over to the hens and the sheep to correct and explain the latest changes in the Law of Animalism.

Motif 3

In the spring, four sows gave birth to thirty-one young pigs; Napoleon turned out to be the father of them all.

Motif 4

Napoleon absorbed in his work. By the door his guard dogs stand watch, and nearby lies the donkey, who almost never says anything, only observes.

Motif 5

The unfinished windmill – despite all the effort, a work that remains forever incomplete. The titan of hard work, ever-obedient Boxer, and his opposite – the vain and lazy Mollie.

Motif 6

The rubbish symbolizes the hardship of life, the rats the will to survive. The turtle trudging through the mud in the foreground is a symbol of a slow journey and of time that crawls on and changes everything. The water – the reflection of the animals and the house in the puddle – symbolizes uncertainty about who one really is.

Motif 7

The first sketch for the painting.