25. kadя

The project presents direct testimonies of refugees who have come to Poland from beyond the eastern border. Despite different places of origin and different experiences, a common ground emerges between them.

The work is a two-channel audiovisual installation based on the use of original statements in Polish and Russian. The visual layer consists of subtitles synchronized with sound – spoken words are displayed individually on two opposite walls in space. The viewers find themselves between these two walls, in the middle of the events told by the voices. It is an attempt to arouse empathy and break the distance between them and the truth they hear.

The inspiration for the project was a fragment of the book entitled “Fearless speech” by M. Foucault regarding parrhesia – a free, open and honest speech act. The title of the project refers to a statement by one of the characters, in which she mentions the use of the 25th frame mechanism to manipulate public opinion in the Russian television. This involves inserting a different image every 25th frame. Unregistered by the human eye, it enters the subconscious, which is why it is considered potentially dangerous.

Despite the political content, for me it is a work about human existential pain. What is important here is not only the fearless speech of the participants, but also the fearless listening of the recipients.

Author of the photo documentation cover:

Bartosz Stawiarski

On the right/below:

Screens of the projections