Pondus

curatorial project: “Natural Lighting”
curator: Antek Burzyński

The sculpture was created as a reaction to the situation that had existed in the venue of the Review. It turned out that a man had been living in the basement of the abandoned building of the Faculty of Pharmacy. Since Brzuzan often takes up the issue of hunger and survival in her works, it became unavoidable for her to confront her artistic approach with a real problem that occurred right in the building where the Review was to be held. Brzuzan’s installation consisted of three metal bars, made from aluminium, copper and steel respectively. In a way, it was a reference to historical ages, the last one of which was the age of iron. But of far greater importance was the real value of the metals. Raw materials, including metals, have always had the potential to become means of payment. Nowadays, although there are some new alloys like aluminium, the rule remains unchanged. Different metals have different values which, unlike other goods produced by industry and culture, do not depend on their age and condition. Whether in the form of a brand new product or seemingly useless waste, metals retain their intrinsic value. There have been many instances in history when gold cups were turned into coins, bells became cannons, and cannons – monuments.
This work was an attempt to transfer value: not directly by means of cash, but in a far more universal and straightforward way, one that does not depend upon social contract. The form of the installation, which triggered associations with minimal art, offered tacit encouragement to make such a transfer from the organisers’ budget, which determined the size of the metal bars, to the society.

[it seems somewhat inappropriate to suggest theft in a straightforward way].

> Antoni Burzyński

fot. Justyna Fedec