Red Has a Dark Value on Black and White Photos (2019)
In 1918 Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935) led Poland back to full independence for the first time in 123 years. This sparked a huge personality cult, which became part of the Polish government’s officially ideology. His career had a fascinating dichotomy: from a young, anti-tsarist rebel who fought bitterly against the Russian empire to a deeply rooted part of the establishment, against which others would revolt. Polish artist Oktawian Jurczykowski combines archive images with his own to place the cult around Piłsudski in the context of contemporary Poland. The ‘red’ in the title is a twofold reference to the Polish legend: he fought against Soviet aggression, yet later ruled Poland in a way that reminded of that regime. In terms of photography, red is a bright colour, but converted into greyscale its value is dark.
Oktawian Jurczykowski is engaged in photography, animation and illustration. He believes that the Polish Generation Z – which he himself belongs to – shows many similarities with that of its peers ninety years ago. Today, too, the country is ruled with a firm hand and it is the young generation that is rebelling. With his project Jurczykowski wants to show that it is important to revolt, but it is equally important not to become who you once fought against.
