In Vent, 2023 Zajko explores the formal, physical, and psychological manifestations of vents and exhausts as a metaphor between industry and the body. Here, the words vent and exhaust refer both to the waste fumes emitted from factories and engines as well as the action of depleting an energy source. In a world in which the acceleration of production and obsolescence coincides with the decrease of labour regulations and social safety nets, Zajko argues that the state of ‘exhaustion’ seems to be the norm.

The title of the work: ‘Vent’ also relates to the expression and release of strong emotion. Zajko explains that the image of the lifted up underarm can be read as a reference to protest; here, the protestor raises his arm in an outcry against injustice. The lifted underarm also taps into the sexual connotations of thirst trapping images seen on social media where (mostly) gay men lift one of their arms up in immediately recognisable pose.

In the centre of the composition, the vent itself is made out of melted church candles. Here, Zajko critiques the constant influence of Catholicism on the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ community in his own home country of Poland, where there have been attacks at pride events and crackdowns on abortion rights.