Exhibitions

Opening and meeting with the artist: February 28, 6:00 PM

The Collections Room. Iwona Zając exhibition is a project that examines memory, transience and interpersonal relationships in the context of social and historical change. The installation And I Must and the video Farewell are an artistic tribute to the workforce of the Gdańsk Shipyard and its history. Both works refer to the no longer existing Shipyard mural, no longer in existence (2004–2012), which decorated the walls surrounding the shipyard for years, becoming a symbol of the story of life, work, dreams and unfulfilled plans of the people who created it together.

The installation And I Must was made from hand-cut stencils that were used to paint the Shipyard mural. The title of the work is taken from a statement by one of the mural’s characters, Władysław Skoworodko: “I committed myself to this work and I must be here until the end, although my health is failing and sometimes I’ve had enough.” The video Farewell documents the process of painting over the mural right before the wall was pulled down in 2013. The footage makes for a symbolic ritual of saying goodbye to the place and its history. The artist’s decision to paint the wall black was taken to avoid the inevitable degradation of her work due to the demolition process.

The exhibition encourages reflection on the transience of human experiences and their place in collective memory and heritage. With tenderness and commitment, the artist conveys the stories of the shipyard workers, confronting the viewer with the transience of human memory and the durability of social bonds. And I Must and Farewell show how everyday life and personal experiences can transform into a universal message about the value of labour, identity and preserving memories.

Iwona Zając is a visual artist known for her painting, murals, installations and social activity art. In her work, Zając takes up the themes of memory, identity, family ties and transience, often in a local context. She stands out in her ability to combine personal narratives with a universal message and in her sensitivity to the voices and stories of people from different backgrounds. Her projects have been presented many times in Poland and beyond, winning recognition from audiences and critics alike.

The Gdańsk Collection of Contemporary Art, a Municipality of Gdańsk deposit in the collection of the NOMUS New Art Museum, branch of the National Museum in Gdańsk and the National Museum’s collection

Collections Room is a cyclical project where selected works from the collections of the Gdańsk Gallery of Photography (GGF) and the NOMUS New Art Museum, two branches of the Department of Modern Art, National Museum in Gdańsk, are displayed alternately, emphasising the diversity of both collections but also looking for possible shared contexts and points of reference.

Curators: Aleksandra Grzonkowska, Maja Murawska
Collaboration: Grażyna Skierka, Małgorzata Taraszkiewicz-Zwolicka, Maja Bieńkowska
Translation: Piotr Łuba
Education: Nadzieja Grabińska
Promotion and communication: Justyna Sobotka
Conservation: Joanna Didik
Craftsman: Piotr Pietraszek
Inventories: Sławomira Bigaj
Audience Caretakers: Katarzyna Musielak, Magdalena Obrębska, Elżbieta Pobłocka, Anna Schick