Until 16 November, Kaunas Photography Gallery is running an exhibition by Mariusz Forecki, chronicler of contemporary Polish transformations, entitled “Poland in the Vortex of Change.” The exhibition consists of works from the photographer’s most famous series about Poland: “Blue Box,” “At Work,” and “Mechanism.” The curator of the exhibition Mindaugas Kavaliauskas notes that Mariusz Forecki’s work resonates with today’s realities in Lithuania, where a society hypnotized by economic growth is changing art art, and culture with consumption, and the rules, norms, and criteria of business, management, and industrial production are being applied to culture and creativity.
In his series Blue Box, Mariusz Forecki transported Poland, which became a member of the European Union on May 1, 2004, into a new, European reality. “I photographed phenomena that had their roots outside Poland and were the result of the political changes of 1989: drinking habits, shopping habits, entertainment, leisure, investments, and so on. This coincided with a technological revolution in photography: digital imaging was becoming increasingly sophisticated and accessible, replacing traditional film photography. I took the photographs using expired Fuji 64T color positive film, purchased at a clearance sale, intended for artificial lighting. That is why the color is intense blue. The foreground was lit with a flash with a yellow filter. The effect is reminiscent of the television “bluebox” technique, where a person is filmed against a blue background and then transferred to a new, selected reality using a computer.
One of the inspirations for the series “At Work” is a factory in Poznań, which has been operating for a long time but has faced great difficulties in the new market economy, and the everyday life of its employees. As Michał Sita writes, Mariusz Forecki’s photographs, taken in various factories in Poland, are like a documentation of the social “kolkhozes” of our time, guaranteeing happiness and the fulfillment of dreams for workers. This work is a consistent and thorough picture of well-honed work organization mechanisms and algorithms that we willingly accept. Instead of negotiations on basic working conditions, this work reveals rules, regulations, rights, obligations, training, motivational trips, and almost mandatory collective entertainment. Mariusz Forecki shows this system as a machine of consumerism, in which mandatory acceptance of rules and discipline are things that define the entire modern world.
The extensive photographic narrative Mechanism (1988–2019) allows us not only to see, but also to try to understand and evaluate how Poland has changed over the years. There was uncertainty: would a thin roll of dollars, bought with a year’s salary, become a torn communist newspaper and a provocation? Later – a few days in line to get a passport and the first elections. And the train station, still smelling of a dirty second-class carriage on the night train from Szczecin to Przemyśl. The story begins at the end of the 1980s, when the grayness of the streets turns into the colors of the unpredictable 1990s – ideas on how to operate in a new, emerging system. Mr. Marek, a fakir, was finally able to demonstrate his skills wherever he wanted. Mrs. Jadvyga, a 56-year-old saleswoman in a haberdashery shop, was able to enjoy erotic pole dancing. Everyone was allowed to sell whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted. Jan Szczepanek from Chorzów could play his white double bass anywhere without interference. Long queues of ambitious entrepreneurs lined up at customs to clear another shipment of goods from the West. True freedom. We are firmly entering the modern age – commercial, mobile and digital. We have no doubt that this is “our time in real time”. Beer, beer everywhere. The president of the brewery motivates his employees: “Tell your family, friends, everyone about our beer. We must be the largest beer producer in Europe.” The slogan: “The customer must be satisfied with our work because he pays our salaries.” Competitions are held – who has the biggest beer belly, who is the first to drink a large mug of beer, do five squats, turn around and stand up straight. Beer is also the most commonly purchased drink at the largest rock festival in Central Europe, held in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, near the German border. Its slogan is “Love, friendship, music,” and it is reminiscent of the legendary 1969 Woodstock Festival. However, the new reality is not just pop culture and unbridled, sometimes even indecent, joy of change. It was a time when we exhausted ourselves with freedom because it overwhelmed us unexpectedly, with the force of a tsunami and the scent of lavender fields.
Mariusz Forecki is a documentary photographer from Poznań. He takes many photographs in Poland and former Soviet countries. He is the author of several books: I Love Poland (2009), The Collection of Vženšnia (2011), At Work (2011), and The Man with Dark Glasses (2016). Many of his books have won various awards, and his 2022 book Dust was among the finalists in the prestigious Arles Photography Festival’s selection of author books. Mariusz Forecki graduated from the Institute of Creative Photography at the University of Silesia in Opava, Czech Republic. He has won numerous photography competitions and exhibited his work extensively. He has received awards including the Polish Art Photographers Association Medal and the Poznań City Art Award. Together with the Kaunas Photo festival, he has organized a number of artistic residencies and participated in several exhibitions in Lithuania. He is one of the few foreign photographers who was present at the Supreme Council of Lithuania on the night of January 13, 1991. Since his mother is from Lithuania, the photographer is also a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania.
The exhibition is partly funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Kaunas City Municipality. The patron of Kaunas Photography Gallery is AON, main sponsor is letsinvest.eu.