ARTIST
Agnieszka Polska creates videos, animations and photographs, often using archival or stock material, combining it with animation. There is a certain state of emergency present in her works. It derives from the political and social environment of our time. But rather than moralistically referencing specific matters like ecological issues, or the rise of nationalistic sentiments, the artist focuses on creating an immersive experience for the audience. As a distant but diligent observer, the viewer becomes a prisoner of the video footage and events unfolding before their eyes. It’s the immersion that charges Polska’s videos with political potential.
Of the artwork Polska has donated to support Grupa Granica, she writes:
“I created Firebird 2 during my research on the process of setting the electric grid in Europe in the 20th century: an event of technological breakthrough, that initiated the process of development of technological megastructures into a governing planetary architecture. I am interested in different aspects of the electromagnetic grid: its role as a map of socio-economic power, a tool of control, an emancipating factor, a placeholder for spirituality, an architecture for modern consciousness and later Information Age. The very image of a bird sitting on a wire comes from a recurrent dream I had as a child. I remember in my dream I was identifying as a small, insignificant bird that was not aware of the power and powerful information flowing through the wire. The flame hovering above the bird's head refers to the common depiction of spirituality, and in my work points to the fact that all living beings and their thoughts are enabled by electricity.”
Polska was born in Lubin, Poland, and lives and works in Berlin. She is a visual artist and a film director. Polska has presented her work in international venues, including the New Museum and the MoMA in New York, Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Tate Modern in London, Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. Solo exhibitions have been organised by Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Nottingham Contemporary, Saltzburger Kunstverein, among others. She also took part in the 57th Venice Biennale, 11th Gwangju Biennale, 19th Biennale of Sydney and 13th Istanbul Biennial. In 2018 she was awarded the German Preis der Nationalgalerie.
CHARITY
The humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border began in the summer of 2021 and is ongoing. Grupa Granica works on the border providing vital aid and legal support for refugees, helping with the search for missing people, providing translators, psychological services and documenting human rights violations.
The forest along the border is a dense, primeval forest that has a much colder and more humid climate than the surrounding area. It is inhospitable and a dangerous place to navigate and many people crossing through suffer injuries.
Grupa Granica has a 24 hour hotline that refugees in emergency situations can contact. They can send their location and Grupa Granica dispatches the nearest team of volunteers.
Grupa Granica is also active in detention centers and hospitals along the border. They constantly gather and share verified and reliable information on the situation at the border, document human rights violations and help refugees to navigate legal issues.
