Paulina Day draws from the stories surrounding the evolving art/life work — Paulina — a quest of historical and imaginative reenactment prompted by a desire to recover a tragically broken matrilineal line. [Back after a necessary hiatus!]
When Patrycja Dołowy and I first returned from our journey retracing the wartime path of Paulina Hirsch across Poland and Ukraine, we were at a loss for how we could possibly share the story of what we experienced on the road. Nobody would believe us. It was a real-life ghost story — a ghost story partnered with a fairytale, where everything in our lives, from even before we were born, collided together in a single, enchanted instant.1
Upon hearing our story, one colleague rationalized that the extraordinary outcome is a result of exceptionally honed research skills. On the flip side, another insisted that our experience was nothing less than divine intervention. I’d say it’s not quite either of those things but maybe something in between?
Methods for accessing the no longer there, the inaccessible
When dealing with histories of the displaced, the erased, especially stories of women, the archive is frustratingly scarce.
As an artist, I aim to fill in the space and give shape to what is no longer here. When I am searching for something, such as the original missing piece in my grandmother’s story that led me to Poland, I conduct every form of research imaginable: i.e. consulting archives and specialists, historical texts, conducting field research. But, I also get creative when faced with the void, turning to unconventional means: Deep listening, forms of embodiment and re-enactment — open to what comes— by making myself vulnerable and available to what may reveal itself.
This story has repeatedly shown me how the desire and dedication to find records of someone lost can awaken more than what our rational minds understand or are prepared for.
The question has come up, and I continue to ask it myself: Is this a real ghost story?
Anyone who does memory work would likely agree that the term ghost is not just a reference to a supernatural spirit, it is also the concept in our minds of the presence of something absent, no longer there, lingering. An energy, of sorts. Who isn’t haunted by someone or something?
A personal haunting tied to a collective one
I first felt bewitched when a vision of my grandmother's childhood flashed in my mind while crossing a field at the Czech border of Poland in 2013. And again when I laid eyes on the name and signature of her mother, my great-grandmother, penned on a century old report card that had been hidden in a family heirloom.
This signature — the only trace of a young mother taken long before her time— is the first ghost I saw with my own eyes. It pulled me to Poland in search of clues to her life. Now I was more than bewitched, I was possessed.
And on this search, I found Paulina's story, as if my great-grandmother said, this is what I have for you. And the magnetic pull to Poland grew tenfold connecting me to Patrycja (pulled by her own ghosts) in a soulmate kind of way, to experience an encounter so sublime, the question of ghosts was no longer a play of imagination, but rather a thing to be reckoned with.
My role-model investigator of the void is a fictional character
OK, yes, I admit this is strange. But unconventional work requires unconventional tools. If you have known me for a while, you may recall my earliest performance/ research investigation, inspired by David Lynch's brilliant creation – the character of FBI Agent Cooper from the TV series Twin Peaks. Agent Cooper was a highly principled, quirky and mystical detective who combined rigorous deductive skills with open forms of intuition bordering on extra sensory perception, such as decoding his dreams for clues to his investigation.2 The methods of research, speculation, and collective ritual I honed while channeling Agent Cooper (and I like to think, in collaboration with him) became a blueprint for investigating Paulina’s story.
Imagination, play, and direct engagement are crucial tools for accessing information that cannot be found by conventional means. Agent Cooper (and David Lynch) taught me that.3
“I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.”- Agent Dale Cooper
Paulina Hirsch was a woman who lived and suffered and persevered. But also, via the text she left behind, she became a mythological figure and the archetype of the woman I seek: The missing female ancestor whose story I cannot find from within my own family records. A woman with extraordinary qualities of intuition, skill, and bravery. With the ability to move through and persuade her way out of unthinkable situations. I thought (at the onset of 2017 when I discovered Paulina’s text) — as world politics get increasingly ominous, what wisdom can Paulina’s story bring us now?
Paulina became my spirit guide and with Patrycja, my companion deeply connected to this history and place, I went searching for her. I never imagined in my wildest dreams, that we would actually find her — that we would learn and be transformed by the rippling effect of her impact, decades after her death.
And as I, we, move ahead into this next chapter, I am starting to wonder, who will appear next?
Thank you for reading this reflection inspired by caring for the stories of those who can no longer speak for themselves. In this time of war, oppression, intolerance, misinformation, and prejudice, this project focuses on the potential of each other’s stories to provide a vision of hope, possibility, and deeper understanding.
*The image from the above series, Rae on the Street is one of several available for donors to the Paulina film. Contributions support the documenting of/ and the preservation process of Paulina and her daughter’s items found in a well.
The full story of what happened has been mostly shared live, during performances, or in conversations with friends, peers, etc. It will ultimately be revealed in the forthcoming film. BUT, for those who must know, there is one place online, honoring the life and memory of Stefan Kisielowski (a crucial player in this story) where all is revealed!
Description of the project on my website: https://www.michelle-levy.com/agent-c
More info is available on “Dream Intercepted” the appeal I made to David Lynch in 2015: levycoop.org
R.I.P. David Lynch [1946 - 2025]. With eternal gratitude.
