A MIRROR WITH SILENT MEMORY – exhibition of artists associated with ArtBrut Gallery, relating to photographic works in art brut and outsider art

Artists: Jakub Adamski, Mateusz Blaczek, Bartosz Dziedzic, Piotr Jeruzel, Paulina Kołodziejska, Jacek Kröle, Kamil Łyjak, Marta Nawojczyk, Andrzej Niedźwiecki, Bartosz Runiewski-Markiewicz, Daniel Stachowski, Wanda Sidorowicz, Krzysztof Tarnowski, Mateusz Tatarczyk, Elwira Zacharska

Opening: Saturday 18 May 2024, 7 p.m. / Museum Night in Wrocław
Exhibition open until: Friday 26 July 2024

ArtBrut Gallery
& Studio for Socio-Cultural Inclusion
46A Ruska Street, Wrocław

Exibition Artistic Mentor: Wojciech Chrubasik
Producer: Janina Kudlaszyk

A MIRROR WITH SILENT MEMORY exhibition is a story about the diversity of forms, themes and artistic messages of photographic works by art brut and outsider art artists associated with the ArtBrut Gallery & Studio in Wrocław, created over the years of the venue's activity.

The creators of ArtBrut Gallery are sensitive artists who have developed their unique and recognisable styles. Their artistic activities reflect their deep creative individuality, manifested in unconventional shots, unusual perspectives and often surprising themes. The final vision of the exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the artists of ArtBrut Gallery and photographer Wojtek Chrubasik, who has been working with the gallery for years, carrying out creative activities and documenting events. In addition to artistic works, the exhibition features a presentation of the ArtBrut Photo Agents Project, carried out by the artists of the ArtBrut Gallery & Studio with Wojtek Chrubasik. As part of this project, the artists visited befriended art and cultural institutions, producing photographic documentation.

Photographic works by the Gallery & Studio artists have been shown at numerous exhibitions at ArtBrut Gallery and external festivals and events such as ON THE COMMON. WAVES EVERYWHERE 2 / 15th Media Art Biennale WRO 2013 PIONEERING VALUES, Wroclaw 2013; ANTIDOTUM / 12th SURVIVAL Art Review ‘CITY – INFLAMMATORY STATE’, Wrocław 2014; EAT ART / openHUB Europe project, Milan, Italy 2015; PARDELÀ LES TABOUS / ART ET DÉCHIRURE festival, Rouen, France 2016; OCCUPATION / 5TH BIENNALE OF URBAN ART – OUT OF STH. BWA, Wroclaw 2017.

A MIRROR WITH SILENT MEMORY being the first exhibition to focus solely on photography, forms part of the year of ArtBrut Gallery's 15th anniversary celebrations, presenting works made by its artists between 2009 and 2024.

CURATORIAL TEXT / Wojciech Chrubasik

Seeing the first photographs in the 19th century must have been a profound experience. Human silhouettes emerging from glass plates coated with chemicals could give the impression of being alive. The daguerreotype, one of the first photographic techniques, was called a mirror with silent memory. And it is not only the Indians who until today oppose photography, claiming that the structure of a particular person's soul is violated when capturing a human image.

The photographs by the artists of the ArtBrut Gallery are unique records of their perspective, reflections of their everyday lives, and elements that have caught their attention. Their outstanding bodies and minds enforce a unique way of looking at the world, naturally allowing them to transcend classical notions of photography. When interacting with the camera, they easily transfer their emotions and unique personalities into images, a rare and desirable skill among photography enthusiasts.

The design of A MIRROR WITH SILENT MEMORY exhibition is based on the psychodynamic concept of personality focusing on three elements: Superego, Ego and ID.

The first element - the display in the entrance hall, which refers to the Superego - represents external social norms. Mainstream photography is also characterised by its norms. They are characterised by a strong emphasis on correct photography, appropriate focus, composition and the 'niceness' of the subject. It would be stigmatising to rigidly impose these norms on the images of art brut artists, which is why a variation of the classical and arranged space will be visible in this room.

Secondly, the ID space is composed in contrast to the first one displayed in the smallest room. It symbolises the other pole of this psychological equilibrium. According to the psychodynamic theory, the ID is the space most hidden in the unconsciousness, which houses hidden instincts, corporeality, needs, wants and desires. It is here that the most unconventional artistic realisations have found their place.

The Ego space is a focal point between social norms and bodily needs. This is where conscious information arrives. This is where the artist and the image of the artist as we see it are located. This space presents photographs in which the artists themselves are visible.

Over the past two years, the artists have evolved as part of the photographic group ArtBrut Photo Agents. We regularly visited various cultural venues, watching art and shooting photographs during these wanderings. The images created then allowed people with no previous experience with the photographic medium to join this exhibition. In addition to the shots of the works seen in exhibitions, which would seem obvious, many completely different and surprising pictures were taken. My role was to collect this material, moderate the collective assessment and share it on our Instagram profile of the Project.

The artists associated with ArtBrut Gallery & Studio have repeatedly used photography in their work, but there has never yet been an exhibition based solely on this medium. Hence we decided to show archival and new works by established and fresh artists associated with this unique venue. Let them jointly change the way we look at photographs - not just as a collection of more or less pretty pictures, but as mirrors with the silent memory of the photographer.

/Translated by Paweł Granicki/