Exhibition by Planeta is the next edition of the informal initiative NOWY ZŁOTY temporarily hosted in the Open Anti-fascist Studio OSA, which is a part of Galeria Labirynt. The artist was nominated by Weronika Wysocka, in accordance with the formula functioning since 2019 – an artist presenting a work as part of the NOWY ZŁOTY at a given moment provides three artists, and the curatorial team selects one of them.

NOWY ZŁOTY

episode XIV

Planeta

“The Mystery of the Holy Tent”

30/07–15/08/2021

Where: Kiosk in front of Galeria Labirynt (ul. Popiełuszki 5)

In her display, Planeta begins with the experiences of seclusion in the forest. They are for the artist an opportunity to watch nature with its diversity and force. She pays special attention to trees – considering them as members of the circle, companions of the process, support and source of energy. When the artist returns to the city, she also looks for these properties. And it was in these circumstances that she came across the black poplar (Populus Nigra) located on the lawn in front of Galeria Labirynt.

Reaching the sources, it turned out that the history of the tree – called by the city dwellers “baobab” – goes back 130 years. Planted in Litewski Square after the January Uprising as a “tree of freedom”, it was a symbol of Lublin for many years. As a result of the fungus infection of the tree, the branch broke off and in 2016 the provincial inspector of monuments decided to cut it down. The trunk was intended for making the sculpture, and Mirosław Bałka undertook the project of commemorating the “baobab”. Due to the combination of unfavourable circumstances, the remains of the “baobab” are placed in an unchanged location to this day.

Planeta invites the viewers to commemorate the tree – this particular “baobab”, but also symbolically each of its “relatives”, that lives, supports and gives energy. This is going to be served by the ritual performed during the opening of the exhibition, as well as the space of the Shrine of Freedom arranged in the kiosk – a holy tent created to celebrate “natural biodegradation”, which we can borrow from the world of nature for everyday life. “The decaying trunk is going become the basis for building a new feminist-anarchist ecosystem in which interdependencies are not based on oppression, discrimination, violence, building false hierarchies or abuse,” says Planeta. The system in which diversity becomes freedom,” says Planeta.

On the opening day, July 30th at 7:00 p.m., a performance to commemorate the tree takes place. In the following weeks of the exhibition, the viewers are going to be able to present gifts and intentions at the Shrine of Freedom.

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Planeta – born in 1996 in Kiev, she has been living and working in Poland since 2013. She studied Visual Communication at the Academy of Art and Design in Łódź. She graduated from the Academy of Photography in Warsaw. The artist works on the levels of visual arts using an interdisciplinary approach. She works with performing arts, sculpture, historical costumes, and installation. Analysing folklore and magic rituals, she looks for a language that would foster the development of awareness of social intimacy.

More at: https://www.instagram.com/atelierplaneta/