STANCZYK (JESTER)

Multimedia installation comprising drawings, paintings, prints, sound, video projection, and CCTV camera

The Stanczyk (Jester) borrowed from a well-known painting dated to 1862 by the Polish artist Jan Matejko, is the central figure of the exhibition. Matejko depicted himself as the court jester as a political comment. In the painting, the Jester is shown during a ball at the court of Queen Bona following the loss of Smolensk to the Grand Duchy of Muscovy.

The crowd drawings in this exhibition explore patterns humans create while involved in political and social actions. When seen from a distance these crowds form a homogenous image. At first, viewers believe they see a solid image, landscape, portrait, symbol, or political figure. Upon closer investigation, they discover what the image is made of and see another reality. This discovery uncovers both the fragility and power of collective societal ideas. In the end, people create the Jester, who then becomes real and develops his own meaning.

Jester was exhibited in fall 2004 with Poland's accession to the European Union as a backdrop (1 May 2004).

Centrum Szuki Galeria EL, Elblag Poland, 2004