Daniel Kotowski – Monument to the Victims of Biopower | performance

The Monument to the Victims of Biopower is a mobile and universal object commemorating forgotten, and often invisible people who experienced violence in a normative society. Anyone can fall victim to biopower – in the political, social and capitalist context. What is commemorated by the monument are also specific places of oppressive situations.

When: 28/09/2021, at 16:00
Where: plac Zamkowy, Lublin (next to the stairs)
Accessiblity: The event interpreted into the Polish sign language (PJM) and phonic language; interpreter:  Ewelina Lachowska. The event interpreted into English, interpreter: Krystian Kamiński.
Admission: free

I performed the first operation with the monument on October 18th, 2021 in Wrocław, next to the closed hospital at Poniatowskiego Street. In Nazi times, it was a place where infertility treatments were performed for hereditary patients. The date of the event was not accidental – it was on this day in 1935 that the law on the protection of the hereditary health of the German nation was passed. According to its provisions, the rights in choosing a spouse were limited: marriages with a person suffering from hereditary or mental illness were forbidden, and sterilised people could not enter into a marriage.

The record of my actions was presented in the NOWY ZŁOTY (NEW GOLDEN), formerly ZŁOTY KIOSK.

My project continues – I am traveling with a mobile monument dedicated to the victims of biopower to places where similar, excluding practices took place.
The important thing is not to forget them.

The second stop is Lublin, which I visit to commemorate the first two Equality Marches in this city. Their participants fight for acceptance, tolerance, equality, and oppose stigma. These people experienced hatred and physical violence by counter-demonstrators, which led to a threat to their health or life. For this reason, the route of the 1st Equality March was changed and the police had to use force. In turn, during the Second March, two people brought explosives with them, threatening the people participating in the event. Fortunately, the police reacted, nobody was hurt.

The next edition of the performance recreates the route of the 1st Equality March in Lublin, and will take place on the second anniversary of the 2nd Equality March – on 28/09/2021. By my actions, I want to manifest my disagreement with hatred, violence and making decisions about their lives for others.

I also invite all interested people to participate in the performance. During this event, you can be yourself. We meet at 4:00 p.m. at Plac Zamkowy in Lublin, next to the stairs.

The action is going to be summarised in the form of an exhibition that is going to open on 08/10/2021 at 7:00 p.m. at Galeria Labirynt in Lublin.

Daniel Kotowski – visual artist, performer. Born in 1993 A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (2018) and the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw (2016). PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. His artistic practice is the starting point for reflection on the ways of existence. He observes experiences and interpersonal relationships, as well as the way we are perceived by other individuals. His works often refer to the concept of biopower and biopolitics. He is particularly interested in the categories of “completeness” and “incompleteness”, their ambivalence and hidden potential. He says about himself that he is an indicator of incompleteness, inconsistent with the norm, because he is Deaf and does not use phonic speech. Through his art, he develops his own communication strategy.

Cooperation: Lublin Equality March Association and the Azyl Library