”Wschodniotaur; East-Taur”

the exhibition ”Panopticum” in the frame of international Foto Festival 2021, Galeria Wschodnia, Łódź, 2021

East-Taur (name is word play with ”Wschodnia = Eastern” Gallery) refers to the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur – a hybrid of a human and a bull. The minotaur was hidden in a maze under King Minos’ palace in Knossos, devouring the sacrifices made to him every nine years.
Being associated with the Wschodnia Gallery many times since the 90’s I imagined the gallery to be an enclave surrounded by a maze where “other beings” live. Rarely, “beings” from the outside came to the gallery, and the figures inside it, in turn, eluded unambiguous inspection. In trying to delineate these worlds, I created the character of an East-Taur watching and waiting – not so much for his victims – but researching his relationship with the OTHER (other-being). The music that can be heard a bit from behind the wall (and which was present during the exhibition, turned on by the motion sensor) was often a testimony to the fun that accompanied the meetings in the gallery. It was an inseparable element of meetings heard by the East-Taur.
Somewhat forgotten (like the place just below the Wschodnia Gallery), hidden, with classic features, East-Taur lives in times when man – violently, causing painful wounds to himself and other inhabitants of the planet – steps down from the pedestal of the ruler (the Anthropocene era). Homo sapiens, i.e. a thinking man, seems to be a relict like the Minotaur – as evidenced by both the climatic and political effects. Despite the advances in civilization and technology, the number of “creatures” devoured their “victims” – on different levels of society – predominate on the planet. It should be noted, however, that it is often the “victims” who agree to their fate by making (often democratically) easy choices and seemingly attractive. East-Taur ponders how his animality influences his life, and how in the case of homo sapiens? Isn’t that a good reason for reflection for the local East-Taur – an admirer of unrestrained thought and fine arts?

Medium: intermedia and interactive site-specific work.
Forms of expression: manipulated digital photography, 180 × 79 cm, C-print on Hahnemühle paper; sound: Party next door (my own mix); microcontroller; motion sensor.
Place: abandoned room under the Wschodnia Gallery in Łódź, Poland
*the name “Wschodnio” comes from the name of the Wschodnia Gallery located on the Wschodnia street in the city of Łódź, Poland

”PANOPTICUM”
Artists: Mariusz Sołtysik, Wiktor Polak, Aleksandra Chciuk, Adam Klimczak / curator: Mariusz Sołtysik

The exhibition Panopticon is a collection of individual interpretations of the medium of photography, which in this case is only a point of reference to the current activities of the artists and the residential spaces they have developed in the premises at 29 Wschodnia Street The installations and objects are intended as a discreet dialogue between the artists and the areas of the exhibition sites they have chosen. The natural expression of the interiors and the equipment accumulated in them becomes part of the game with art and the artists’ proposals.

link: http://fotofestiwal.com/2021/en/wystawy/-2/