Krzysztof Czerwiński II

Katarzyna Kozyra’s work Krzysztof Czerwiński II, is, in terms of both form and message, a reference to two earlier pieces by the artist, Krzysztof Czerwiński (1996) and Więzy krwi [Blood Ties] (1999). The first depicts a half-naked and battered man on a red-and-white background, and the second is a set of four photographs of two naked women (one of whom is disabled) shown with a red cross and a red crescent in the back, with either a white background, or surrounded by cabbage and cauliflowers. Both works refer to violence, which is often resorted to in the name of an inappropriately understood ideology.

The diptych Krzysztof Czerwiński II refers, first and foremost, to the issue the artist had touched upon in Blood Ties. The photograph of the model – a battered man met on the street, who had introduced himself as Krzysztof Czerwiński – has been placed within a composition built of a crescent, a cross, and vegetables. Kozyra thus continues her reflections on the war which took place in the 1990’s in the Balkans, as well as its ethnic and religious reasons. The artist recalls the interpretation of the Red Cross, symptomatic of the ideological basis of the conflict – a symbol of an organization providing humanitarian aid. Contrary to the declared neutrality of the sign, its religious connotations turned out to be so strong that it was replaced with a Red Crescent in Moslem countries. By juxtaposing the two signs with the body of a victim, Kozyra points to its objectification. The fanatic ideology, be it of national, ethnic, or religious roots, segregates the victims, delineating borders between “us” and “strangers”. There is no place for humanitarianism here, in the name of which every victim, regardless of religion, ethnic or national origin, is first and foremost a human being.

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