My Dad’s Friends
Krzysztof Mężyk, Marcin Dymek, Sławek Pawszak, Agnieszka Piksa, Cezary Poniatowski, Ludmiła Woźniczko 21.07–04.08.2017
ul. Krowoderska 26/4, Kraków
It’s year 1989. Children’s room at my parents’ friends’ place, voices of the adults heard from behind the doors. It’s already late in the evening. My friend is showing me his pets and toys, we’re building constructions with his sisters. 28 years since that evening I receive a text message with the title of the exhibition. I’m as old as my parents were back then, as they were sitting by the table behind the doors of the children’s room.
At first I wanted this exhibition to be a social event. I planned to invite some friends from Warsaw and Cracow. With time, a list of participants willing to accept my invitation has formed. Every one of them has a strong artistic personality. Sławek, Luka, Piksa, Czarek, Marcin Dymek, they’re all distant stars, shining different light. The exhibition is titled after a song by Maja Sikorowska, the daughter of Andrzej Sikorowski from the band Pod budą. Maybe it would be more accurate to paraphrase that title as: “My dad’s girlfriends, my mom’s friends”. That would be way more fitting… or just: “My dad’s acquaintances”.
We agreed that Dawid would come up with a title, and I’d invite the artists and curate the exhibition. With time I started to notice that everyone is approaching it with caution. What is this situation, why such a far fetched licentia poetica? After some consideration I stopped idealizing this situation. I started to rely on things as they are. Not as I imagined them.
I decided not to treat this exhibition as a social event par excellence. Meeting and catching up with friends, in the pleasant warmth of each other’s works, wouldn’t be the ultimate goal anymore.
Everyone is making use of their freedom as much as they can afford. Emancipation is born organically and it has its limits. No matter how well we know each other, this situation is something new. Everyone is approaching it from their own perspective – their gender, situation, and needs.
The gallery is relocated to my apartment in Cracow for the duration of the exhibition.
text: Krzysztof Mężyk