15.10–15.12.2013 / Opening: 14.10.2013
Although Romani people live among us, there are a lot of issues that divide us. Most of all, it is our
perception of the mentioned ethnically-foreign co-inhabitants. Their presence is real, and yet they
remain absent – ignored and hated. The exhibition presents, among others, the collection of clichѐ
representations: etchings, photographs and paintings (from 19th to 20th century), which reflect
orientalising and stereotypical image of the Romanies and their existence in Polish art. We have not yet
passed through this stage – for years neither Polish artists nor theorists have altered the already developed
iconographic models. ‘ . . . the colonising act of European majorities toward the Roma, is the most visible
and evident.’ (Timea Junghaus).
The exhibition focuses on the notion of ‘Gypsiness’. As it turns out, we have difficulties in comprehending
the mechanism of reproduction of the Roma’s identity. What does ‘Gypsiness’ mean for Poles? How has
the stereotypical image of a Gypsy been shaped? And how have the Roma themselves shaped their own
image by adjusting it to the expectations of others as an adaptation strategy? Is it possible to capture the
truth about this particular ethnic minority from the above notions? What vestiges of colonial domination
can be discerned here? To what principles and characteristics have the ‘imitators’ — bohemian artists or
New Gypsies – related? How significant — and disastrous sometimes — has the perpetuation of these worn
clichés been? “Where sober policy texts steer away from dangerous stereotypes with just a few warning
words about prejudices, this exhibition steers slap-bang for the middle of the stereotypes, revelling in their
kitsch contradiction of the sober norm. ‘ . . . By confronting the stereotypes imaginatively, by refusing to be
frightened or shocked by them, [artists] turn those silences into a message.’(Thomas Acton)
Works of artists from different countries provide possibilities to go beyond stereotypes. Problems that
the exhibition touches upon include: hidden integration vs. forced assimilation, nomadism as a possible
social alternative, the notion of ‘Gypsiness’, and the voice of the Romani community in the discussion
on extermination. A common ground for many aforementioned problems is constituted by architecture,
which not only serves as a testimony to the unforced development of Polish-Romany double identity,
but it also becomes an inspiration for a deep reflection on nomadism or the ignored Romani Holocaust.
We look at how a historical counter-narrative is formed, how the Romani experience proves inspiring for
contemporary cultural reflection, how Romani artists take control over their community’s image. As the
Roma artist Daniel Baker writes in the publication accompanying the exhibition: ‘Elusive visibility has long
been the gift of the Roma, but if we as Roma are to effectively challenge the status quo, we now need to
privilege the visible over the elusive.’
Long absence of social, political or even historical comment on Polish-Romanian relations is striking,
especially that the said relations are fraught with misunderstanding, intolerance and random acts of
violence. ‘We do not serve Romani people here’, ’Romani people are not allowed to use our taxicabs’ —
these were the slogans that appeared in Poznań and were described by Lidia Ostałowska in 2011! In 2013
Polish nationalists triggered riots in Wrocław aimed at burning a Romani camp. In Andrychów local people
demanded displacement of their Roma neighbours. Polish context is particularly interesting because of the
artistic milieu, which — although usually socially sensitive — has not yet referred to the racism present
right next to us. While stories untold have much bigger potential and force than those constantly repeated
and reinterpreted, they also pose a certain threat since many years of negligence makes narrative and
discursive approach oversimplified or misused. Therefore, the exhibition focuses on the visualness as a
subconscious and emotional factor. It can be stated that the visual thinking (holistic, intuitive, lateral) is
always irrational. In fact, however, it helps to break the boundaries of current false logic — negligence,
stereotypization, social exclusion and racism — used against indigenous ‘others’ present in our reality
and in art. The language of art can foster intercultural dialogue. Such is the role of the exhibition held at
Zachęta — National Gallery of Art — to make the marginalized Romani problem a part of the main social,
political, economic or aesthetic discourse, and thus to make Romani people present in Polish society — to
fight their invisibility.
*quotes come from texts published in the book Romano kher. O romskiej sztuce, estetyce i doświadczeniu
accompanying the exhibition.
Artists:
Neal Adams & Joe Kubert & Stan Lee, Daniel Baker, Delaine Le Bas, Tadeusz Borowski, Bownik &
Marcelina Gunia, Olga Boznańska, Kazimierz Czapiński, Hubert Czerepok, Maria Demiter & Anna
Kamińska, Jerzy Dorożyński, Jerzy Ficowski, Wojciech Gerson, Maksymilian Gierymski, Edward
Gorazdowski (based on Franciszek Kostrzewski), Wojciech Jerzy Has, Juliusz Kossak, Antoni Kozakiewicz,
Jan Krajewski (based on Ludwik Kurella), Ignacy Krieger, Aleksandra Kubiak, Leon Lewkowicz, Jerzy
Litwora, Iain McKell, Aernout Mik, Karol Młodnicki (based on Artur Grottger), Jana Müller, Franciszek
Mrozek, Edward Nicz (based on Józef Brandt), Constant Nieuwenhuys, Igor Omulecki & Payam
Sharifi, Antoni Piotrowski, Dorota Podlaska, Jerzy Potrzebowski, Izabella Rapf-Sławikowska, Francis
Reisz, Tadeusz Rolke, Marek Rudowski & Mateusz Wiśniewski, Julian Schübeler (based on Franciszek
Kostrzewski), Zygmunt Sidorowicz, Władysław Siwek, Jan Styfi (based on Hipolit Lipiński), Tomasz
Tomaszewski, Bruce Weber, Alex Wedding (born: Grete Weiskopf) & John Heartfield (born: Helmut
Herzfelde), Piotr Wójcik, Andrzej Zajkowski (based on Franciszek Kostrzewski)
curator: Monika Weychert Waluszko
collaboration on the part of Zachęta: Magdalena Komornicka
consultation: Tomasz Koper
assistance to the work by Aernout Mik: Emile Miedema, Martijn Rooker
