The Aesthetics of Mass Murder: Katyń and the Artistry of Killing

This project looks at ways in which the individual comes into contact with history. By looking at the Katyń Massacre, we can see how violence and history can be viewed from aesthetic perspectives. This allows us to take part in the conversations concerned with genocide in other ways than from ethical and sympathetic perspectives. By examining the Katyń through an aesthetic lens, the individual can approach violence in new and unique ways. This research highlights for us a new way of approaching history and violence while simultaneously offering a way for the individual to have a new voice in history. The poetry that follows the research offers a way for us to aestheticize violence and use language to approach it in a way that is simultaneously cruel and beautiful.