Being the Chief Judge

Being the Chief Judge
15 October – 28 November 2010

Awangarda Gallery
Wita Stwosza 32, Wrocław, Poland

www.bwa.wroc.pl

The group Sedzia Glowny (Chief Judge)—Karolina Wiktor and Aleksandra Kubiak—has radicalized the Polish performance-art scene. Since 2001, this unusual duo has been pushing the limits of human exhaustion to the further point of serious health conditions. By treading difficult paths, and striking the most disturbing and confusing chords, they have explored the sensual and psychological phenomena with their audiences, which include perversion, cruelty and masochism. They have tested the boundaries of gender roles under extreme conditions, experimented with games and role-playing between genders, as well as with the pleasures and responsibilities that come with power. The exhibition documents, reconstructs and closes the first stage of their activities, interrupted by Karolina Wiktor’s serious illness—the stage after which, as the artists themselves admit, the group will never be the same again.

From the very beginning, Sedzia Glowny‘s art developed in close connection with important global changes in contemporary mentality, as influenced by free-market gender stereotyping and new media formats, including reality shows, phone sex lines, tabloid press and interactive TV. Through their activities, the artists often reacted to particular social events that were concerned with the status and legal issues of women.

In drawing upon conclusions from the experience of “critical art”, Karolina Wiktor and Ola Kubiak also merge the political commitment so typical of artists of their previous generation with a consistent development of performing awareness. They make references to the artistic quest of the now-considered-classic performance artists—Natalie LL, Marina Abramovic and Zofia Kulik and at the same time remain fascinated by the ritual roots of performance-art. Using their own private fixations and traumas, they explore borderline spheres of human intimacy. In many cases, the starting point for the group’s activities was a personal drama which went beyond the individual dimension and through to a ritualistic, double action.

Gradually, the substance of the group’s performances became the intense relationship between the artists following the script and the audience taking an active part in the show. Their characteristic strategy of “double performance” soon emerged. With their voluptuous (sex object) feminine appearances, the artists often assumed passive roles, subject to manipulative actions by the audience. The artists appeared to give up all their power, allowing the audience to animate and set them in motion by giving orders. Thus the artists became a medium for people to fulfill their unsophisticated and often sadistic fantasies, their need to control and dictate the rules, but also with an accompanying sense of guilt and sympathy.

The exhibition is an atypical retrospective devoted to the short but intensive career of the group Sedzia Glowny, spanning less than a decade. It consists of film footage of their most important performances, as edited by the artists for this exhibition. The footage follows a classic, chronological narration, leading the viewer through the consecutive Chapters. This is accompanied by two separate entities—The Hopeless Ones and Hommages. A series of activities are also planned to accompany this exhibition: performances by artists whose works are important to the group and who have been personally invited by them: Zbigniew Warpechowski, Michał Bujnicki and Wroclaw’s Grupa Łuhuu!

Exhibition location
BWA Awangarda Gallery, Wita Stwosza 32, Wrocław, Poland

Opening hours
15 October – 28 November 2010
Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 – 18:00

Opening
16 October 2010 at 19:00

Organizer
BWA Wrocław – Galleries of Contemporary Art

Curators
Anna Mituś, Joanna Stembalska

Architectural consultation
Robert Rumas

Contact
BWA Wrocław – Galleries of Contemporary Art
www.bwa.wroc.pl
Wita Stwosza 32
50-149 Wrocław
Poland
T: +48 71 790 25 94,
F: +48 71 790 25 90
info@bwa.wroc.pl