Imaginary Poland, 2014

Photography/text, exhibition, event

Referencing the cult 1970’s Polish TV series about Warsaw cops, an irreverent black and white photo-based cartoon, mixing up the contemporary city with PRL, an alternative post-communist consumer world where the Berlin Wall never came down, Lieutenant Borewicz serving as our guide for a journey from the late socialist state up to the present day. This work was exhibited during Flatpack Festival in Birmingham, UK, in a suitably PRL style nightclub. The work included ‘Calling 07, or a Message from the Past’, a performative lecture by Dr Iwona Kurz (Director of Film and Visual Culture, Institute of Polish Culture, Warsaw) – looking at the reasons why evil did not exist in Poland under communism; at least, not in the movies.

The images were original created as an online cartoon – I Love Zero Siedem – based on visits to Warsaw from 2003, using a mix of found images and contemporary snapshots.

Co-produced with the Polish Expats Association for Flatpack Festival with support from the Polish Cultural Institute in London.

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