Misery Salad, 2023

Kasia Fudakowski, Misery Salad, 2023; Animated glass neon, electrical cabling, transformers, toggle switch, smart plug. Neon produced by Thomas Wendler; 160 × 150 × 10 cm

At 23, Habsburg Princess Bona Sforza of Italy had to swap Bari for Krakow when she was married, per procura, to the 50-year-old Polish King Sigismund the Old, in an attempt to shore up Habsburg power for Emperor Maximilian I. The change was a shock. It was said that when she saw what little fresh fruit and vegetables were served in the cold northern land, she wept into her cucumber salad; since then the dish has been referred to as Misery Salad.