Ausnahmezustand. Polnische Fotokunst heute
ZAK – Center for Contemporary Art at Zitadelle Spandau, 10.09.22- 01.01.23, Berlin, Germany
Artists: Filip Berendt, Kuba Dąbrowski, Karolina Gembara, Weronika Gęsicka, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Magda Hueckel, Pawel Jaszczuk, Irena Kalicka, Anna Kieblesz, Zuza Krajewska, Adam Lach & Dyba Lach, Diana Lelonek, Michał Łuczak, Rafał Milach, Igor Omulecki, Anna Orłowska, Witek Orski, Zosia Promińska, Agnieszka Rayss, Łukasz Rusznica, Michał Siarek, Michał Szlaga, Dominik Tarabański, Łukasz Wierzbowski, Karolina Wojtas, Piotr Zbierski
Curators: Grażyna Siedlecka & Jens Pepper
“Ausnahmezustand. Polnische Fotokunst heute” (State of Emergency. Polish Photographic Art Today) was the largest exhibition ever shown in Germany devoted exclusively to Polish photography. However, it is not an overall show that unites the works of all generations and provides insights into all styles of the medium. Instead, we have deliberately focused on artistic photography. We are showing exclusively works by artists of the young and middle generations, that is by those who grew up, began their studies, and started their careers in the Third Polish Republic after the end of communism in 1989.
Photography from Poland is generally not very well known in Germany, which is quite surprising because, east of the Oder and Neiße rivers, one of the most exciting and creative photographic scenes in Europe has developed in recent years, which is indeed worth exploring. With our exhibition, we would like to encourage you to do so.
What is remarkable for us is that many of its most significant protagonists do not allow themselves to be influenced so much by common international trends, nor have any specialist schools or places of study within the country established themselves as visually style-defining, as is sometimes the case in Germany. Rather, individual, independent pictorial ideas are predominant. The Polish photo scene, therefore, appears remarkably innovative and fresh.
The title we have chosen, “Ausnahmezustand”, may sound a bit lurid to the ears of some, but it indeed describes the situation in which artists in Poland find themselves. A national conservative government that restricts the freedom of the press and the courts, declares patriotism in education to be a lofty good, drives liberal and cosmopolitan people out of leadership positions – including museums – and propagates resentment against certain foreigners, critically thinking citizens, homosexuals and transgender people, the EU and, more generally, against an open society, naturally has a direct impact on the lives and work of creative people.
Parallel to the exhibition there will be a program of lectures and discussion panels. A reading room with books from Fotograficzna Publikacja Roku 2020-2022 (Polish Photographic Publication of the Year 2020-2022) will be also available for visitors.
The exhibition was accompanied by a book of the same name published by Mitteldeutscher Verlag, with approximately 160 pages in German and English along with an insert in Polish.
Media Partner: Fresh From Poland
Poster image: courtesy of Rafał Milach, Jednostka Gallery and Magnum Photos
documentation photos: courtesy ZAK Zentrum für Aktuelle Kunst, Berlin. Photo by Eric Tschernow, Grażyna Siedlecka
opening night photos: Jürgen Baumann, Katarzyna Roniek, Grażyna Siedlecka