黑料不打烊

The exhibition Mary (Polish for 鈥渕ares鈥� in Old English) is a kind of script, or more precisely a recon颅struc颅tion, of a per颅for颅mance originally direc颅ted in a dream. Oskar Dawicki, a literary and film figure, an artist known as a prac颅titioner of total per颅for颅mance, presents this time a dys颅topian nar颅rative. The cen颅tral figure in his vision is a pregnant woman, the heroine of our times, nourisher of the unborn but also caretaker of the dead. As befits a doub颅ting artist, the world of his creation is full of ambivalence. Sun颅glas颅ses worn by pregnant women may show off sum颅mer颅time chic, or may con颅ceal per颅manent blind颅ness. Similarly, in a series of tin grave plaques, Dawicki brings into being and immediately kills off charac颅ters with familiar-鈥媠ounding names: Trud Ponitz (Toyle For颅naught), Wik颅toria Daremna (Vic颅toria N. Vane) or Kor颅poracja Koniec颅pol颅ska (Polen颅send Corp).

The knight鈥檚 armor at the centre of the exhibition鈥擜rmatura polonica utilitate graviditatis鈥攁lludes to the myth of the armed nation and its cur颅rent pro-鈥媐amily policy, but also the widespread social escapism manifest in such phenomena as hob颅bies, historical re-鈥媏nactment groups鈥攁nd con颅tem颅porary art itself. Paradoxically, in a politically and materially unstable reality, an artist with a post-鈥媍onceptual pedigree restores to art one of its for颅merly fun颅damen颅tal proper颅ties, as a one-鈥媜ff, hand颅made form. Ink-鈥媤ashed drawings, armor forged by a metal颅smith, and hand-鈥媝ainted grave plaques: the works derive their illusive power from old-鈥媤orld craft颅sman颅ship. But this traditional costume is a camouflage. Con颅cealed beneath it is a thoroughly up-to-date and deeply per颅sonal diagnosis of the deficit of vital forces. When strength fails, mares arise.