Compost, solo show, Gallery Arsenal, Białystok, Poland, 10.04.2021 – 02.06.2021

Do you see this interruption and catastrophe as an opportunity for change? — Yes, and that’s why I refer to compost as a metaphor for a state of being “in between.” Compost and manure results from accumulating organic matter that decays, decomposes and finally turns into fertilizer thanks to the work of countless organisms: bacteria, fungi, roundworms, and others. To me, this is a start of something new. At the exhibition, the theme of composting refers to a state in which people stop labouring, stop overproducing – and this momentary interruption can be a great opportunity to rethink our past and future actions and think about what to do with all this accumulated matter. The film Compost is about a fluid transformation into a different form, a different structure. What would this new structure and new modes of action that could emerge and grow out of this compost look like? The exhibition does not give a clear answer to this question, because I do not know how to transform the entire art production system to make things different. I do have some hunches, fantasies, and demands as to what direction we could take, but are these tangible alternatives? It’s a bit like wondering what could replace capitalism. The only thing I know for sure is that for compost to become fertilizer, something has to completely decompose first. But here, decay is not the same as death; on the contrary, compost is a matter pulsating with life.”

List of artworks at the exhibition Compost:

Composter, 2021

Installation consisting of items found in the warehouses of Galeria Arsenał in Białystok, including remnants of previous exhibitions.

People leaving the art gallery, 2021, photograph, render, 131 × 197 cm

A vision of a potential post-apocalyptic future, the photograph shows the employees of Galeria Arsenał in Białystok leaving a decaying building overgrown by fungi. The work examines the precarious existence of cultural institutions in the current economic and political climate. The title and visual layer refer to the famous photo by Zbigniew Libera, The exodus of people from the cities (2010) and, in a way, recycle Libera’s image. The work was created specifically for the Compost exhibition at the Arsenał Gallery in Białystok.

Videos: Forms of Survival  , Compost