“POLSKA” Group Exhibition: Marek Grygiel, Brian Hill, Tomek Lipinski, Jacques Meijer, Wanda Michalak, Tomek Sikora, Krzysztof Wojciechowski 13.04 – 26.05.2007

P O L S K A
Een bonte verzameling kunstenaars en artiesten uit verschillende afkomst geven hun visie op hedendaagse Poland, een ogenschijnlijk éénzijdig land.

Ieder van deze kunstenaars drukt op zijn eigen manier zijn ervaring en gevoel met deze maatschappij uit. De één romantisch (Wanda Michalak – PL/NL), de ander detaillistisch (Brian Hill – ZA), geïnformeerd (Krzysztof Wojciechowski – PL), beschrijvend (Marek Grygiel – PL), opmerkend (Jacques Meijer – NL), in video vorm (Tomek Sikora – PL), en muzikaal (Tomek Lipinski – PL – leadzanger van legendarische anti-establishment punkgroepen Brygada Kryzys en Tilt). Kortom een veelzijdig beeld van wat een veelzijdig land blijkt te zijn.

June 4th, 1993. The first anniversary of toppling the government led by Jan Olszewski. A huge demonstration on the Castle Square. It is perhaps the first time after the fall of Communism that someone stands up against the government. Great mobilization of police forces. Once again WE divides into US and THEM. I do not remember exactly what was said, I only know from the pictures I took then that there were speeches, appeals. But I remember well the fear in the eyes of the bearded senator standing perhaps a hundred meters further, on Krakowskie Przedmiescie, who preferred to remain on the other side of the police line with his reputation of moral authority.
Krzysztof Wojciechowski

Re-birth of free market economy.
The beginning of 1990’s. A huge market place was established around the Palace of Culture – the most prominent example of social-realism style in Warsaw. Most of the people came from the former USSR – from Ukraine to Kazakhstan. I used to come here, out of curiosity, sometimes I bought something. One day, just for few pennies, I bought a small, half-frame camera Chaika. I loaded it with another souvenir from the Communist era, DDR made ORWO NP7 film, and started to take photographs – the re-birth of the free market economy. K.W.

The title conveys well the incidental nature of this humble project. I have been professionally involved with photography for many years and have been taking pictures since my early years. Mostly for myself. At the beginning I used to snatch my father’s small Werra 1 camera which he brought back from East Berlin in 1959. Later I had a Pionyr made in Czechoslovakia and the Polish DRUH which used a roll film. After that, for the first money I ever earned, I bought my own START camera. Finally there was the good old Canon AE-1 from 1978, which I am happily using to this day, and a Soviet Lomo, which I feel a particular sympathy for.

Sometimes I show these pictures to my friends and they find them interesting. My own feelings towards them are more distant, albeit sentimental. They are a reminder of the past, of the travels, when I was taking pictures with no special purpose in mind. Those photographs depict ordinary people and ordinary situations.
And also ordinary places. Like those we pass by on our way somewhere and do not pause to look at.

I do not claim that these photographs have a high documentary or reportage value. They are merely a record of common places, situations and people which, put together, form a chronicle of everyday reality with all its banality and mystery
All pictures were taken in Poland during the last few years.

Marek Grygiel
Art historian, curator of photography in the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, photo editor in Gazeta Wyborcza, publisher of online magazine about photography http://fototapeta.art.pl; from 1982 to 2006 managed the Mala Gallery (est. 1977) in Warsaw.
Honorary member of the Union of Polish Art Photographers (ZPAF), a member – correspondent of Deutsche Fotografische Akademie e.V. Curated numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad.

no road is straight these days
and nothing seems clear
i’m not sure where i am
how far or how near
you can only fight for freedom
when you realise you’re a slave
‘there’s no reason to kill’ i think
while i’m walking from a grave

walkin’ in the dark
thru’ the mist, thru’ the fog
walkin’ in the dark
tryin’ to keep my light on

prophecies are fulfilled
but the work’s not yet done
a lesson has been taught
but the teacher is now gone
put the demons to sleep
put the demons to sleep
put the demons to sleep
put the demons to sleep

walkin’ in the dark
thru’ the mist, thru’ the fog
walkin’ in the dark
tryin’ to keep my light on