Stefan Wojnecki 
Operations
13.12.2019 - 22.01.2020
Curated by Dorota Łuczak and Jarosłwa Klupś

The exhibition Operacje 74/19 [Operations 74/19] is a re-construction of the Dęby? [Oaks?] diaporama, presented by Stefan Wojnecki in 1974, at a plein air workshop in Łagów. A work that has been omitted in the history of photography, including monographies of the photographer, and even forgotten by the artist himself, has been brought back to life. The diaporama is composed of two projections in colour: the first one shows a heart surgery with all the equipment and procedures that are needed and play a vital role, permitting the doctors to operate on the patient's heart. The images from the operating theatre show how much people depend on medical equipment, not only as a tool used by the doctors, but actually a way of sustaining the person's life. This powerful role of the machines can also be heard in the soundtrack - a recording of the sounds emitted by the machines, while human voices remain muffled. The second projection shows oaks, as suggested by the title, photographed in a park in Rogalin. The trees are covered with lichens and lumps, they are ill, and they are being supported and saved by external structures made of concrete and metal. The juxtaposition of a heart surgery with sick trees, already back in 1974, eliminated fundamental distinctions between people and the nature. The condition of being sick becomes a common experience. In the 1970s, Dęby? [Oaks?] were already a manifestation of a wider interest in ecological movements, also referenced by Wojnecki in his show Sygnały. Wystawa ekologiczna [Signals. Ecological Exhibition] (1971). Today, the project falls in line with posthuman understanding of the world, according to which human and non-human entities, alive or not, form a network of interdependent actors, and the connections between them are based on sustainable, mutual interactions.

The title Operacje 74/19 [Operations 74/19] refers both to the topic of the diaporama, literally drawing attention to the specific operation shown to us through photographs of the material world, and also to the activity performed on the material archive of Stefan Wojnecki in 2019, which cannot be considered neutral. First of all, the project − as I mentioned before − has been brought back from oblivion. Secondly, its re-construction was carried out with the consent of and according to guidelines provided by the artist, but beyond his control. Thirdly, as a result of the present action performed on historical materials, the multisensory show is preceded by a presentation of reportage photos taken by Wojnecki in early 1980s. The prints, developed on the basis of selected slides, showing pedestrians on the streets, have been organised in a layout that encourages the visitors to perform an investigation, and to look for people who reappear on different pictures or are similar to one another. The potential stories arising from such observations become a script for the operation.

Dorota Łuczak

Projekt dofinansowany z budżetu Miasta Poznania

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