Agata Rogoś

Anno Domini is the Trouble

Galeria Stara BWA, Lublin
30 th April – 30 th May 2004

Behind the closed wooden door of the Stara Gallery in Lublin the white, absolutely pure and ascetic was being opened straight on the visitor, similar in conception to the white cube space. Cleaned, purist space of the gallery was exploring a huge calm and silence. The exposition consisted of the video installation presented on the three monitors in the central part of the gallery space separated by the white walls. On each monitor there was an artist’s figure in the indifferent surrounding as well, who while shutting and opening the arms was saying common sentence Anno Domini is the trouble. The composition of the exhibition was fulfilled by two black and white photographic prints which were actually grey, not sharp, blurring in front of the eyes created from the little points (which could be seen after a longer observation). Prints were showing an old man wearing black suit somehow sitting on the chair, but as a matter of fact in the void, in an uncomfortable position. The posture was showing a typical gesture of an old man, sitting with his hands shut on the knees. The only dynamism that was made about this composition was “laying” the print with an old man on the left wall.

The whole exhibition despite the sameness generated by the “sad” photographic prints on the one hand and repeatability and periodicity of the video installation on the other was leading a peculiar discordance between both parts of the exposition. Was giving the expression of a game with convention of the effigy of the old age. The game was though not to lead to hold up to ridicule nor the effigy, nor what’s more the cultural paradigm, in which enters the human old age. It was rather a sort of manipulation which causes a great joy inside of me, and a smile on my face. This work could be of course treated in the categories of the huge mockery because while looking at the video installation of Jan Świdziński there is an impression that the spoken words are absolutely not addressed to the artist’s figure, but are sent inside the void are left somewhere around, just like the look of a sad old man that was left behind. The situation is totally inappropriate… What old age?

The installation created by connecting video works and two computer prints was led in the gallery space as a structure of an alter. Because of the applied space construction a peculiar triptych was generated. Purist and isolated space of the gallery led the visitor in a sacred atmosphere. Though it is just an illusion modernist consecration of the art and avant-garde artist is being rather surrendered to analyze in the ironic convention. Let’s not treat the Art that serious! Artist is supposed to shout. Though Anno Domini is a trouble and so what?

Text and translation: Agata Rogoś