Barbara Gryka – Motorcycle Dance

Colourful dresses and corsets adorned with trinkets, artificial flowers tucked into the hair, ribbons, embroidery, beads and pristine white lace, colourful singing and lively dance, the roar of engines, high speeds, grease, smoke, the smell of petrol and hot asphalt, leather jackets and protective helmets. It is difficult not to call these phenomena opposing, incompatible with each other.

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Exhibition opening:
When: Friday, July 16, 2021, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Galeria Labirynt, ul. ks. J. Popiełuszki 5, Lublin
Accessibility: The exhibition is held on the ground floor. At the bookstore, you can borrow a wheelchair and earmuffs for free during your stay in the gallery. The gallery has 6 portable induction loops. Opening translated into the Polish sign language (PJM); interpreter: Ewelina Lachowska. Opening interpreted simultaneously into English – please pick up the device at the bookstore before the event; interpreter: Krystian Kaminski.
Admission: Free
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“Motorcycle Dance” is a combination of opposing environments: city and countryside, as well as motorisation and traditional culture. Barbara Gryka prepared a choreography based on the Lublin folk dance, which was recreated by motorcyclists. The individual manoeuvres of the vehicles correspond to the movements taken from the figures of folk dances.

Work on the performance began in 2017 in Lublin during the “Synergia” project. The exhibition featured recordings of the “Motorcycle Dance” rehearsals. There was a plan for a performance that failed because one of the motorcyclists was injured. Barbara Gryka returned to the project in 2020 and the first edition of the exhibition took place in May 2021 at BWA Zielona Góra art gallery.

The four-channel video projection is complemented by an in-situ installation, consisting mainly of recycled materials.

The performance was attended by: Kasia Dados, Marek Jęczeń, Tomek Jęczeń, Damian Jóźwiak, Rafał Autocholik Michalczak, Paweł Niamita, Jasiek Smaga and Wojciech.

Video production and editing: Jan Szewczyk
Sound production: Alex Banaszkiewicz
Drone video production: As VIDEO