Marta Bogdańska

Vive la Résistance! In the Eye of the Observer

05.12.2024 – 16.02.2025

We invite you to the Fort Photography Institute for an exhibition by Marta Bogdańska titled 'Vive la Résistance! In the Eye of the Observer.” This is the first installment of this project, in which the artist explores the themes of animal agency, resistance, and coexistence. The exhibition opening will take place on December 5 at 19:00. Admission to the exhibition, opening, and accompanying events is free.

➤ Address: Gallery of the Fort Photography Institute, Fort Mokotów, Władysław Szpilman Street 6 (formerly Racławicka Street 99), building 4, Warsaw

➤ Opening: December 5, 2024 | Thursday | 19:00

➤ Opening hours: Wednesday-Friday 14:00-18:00; Saturday-Sunday 12:00-18:00

➤ Admission to the exhibition: free of charge

➤ Exhibition curator: Olga Łacna

Accompanying events:
➤ December 8, 2024 | Sunday | 13:00 – guided tour by Marta Bogdańska with curator Olga Łacna, with PJM interpreter (free admission)
➤ January 26, 2025 | Sunday | 16:00 – meeting of Marta Bogdańska and Olga Łacna with Dr. hab. Prof. UŁ Anita Jarzyna (free admission)
➤ February 8, 2025 | Saturday | 16:00 – workshop by the Multisensory Foundation, tailored to the needs of blind and visually impaired individuals (registration required)

Marta Bogdańska invites you to the first installment of the project 'Vive la Résistance!', which explores the themes of animal agency, resistance, and coexistence. Bogdańska poses bold questions about what it means to be aware and free in a world where the boundaries between humans and other species are sharp, and humanity has denied its animality. Through archival materials, experimental videos, collages, and prints, the artist invites us to a different way of seeing – to perceive a reality that often eludes us in our daily rush.

In the exhibition space, we will find archival material that serves as a starting point for creative actions, as well as new works attempting to capture the subtle yet powerful forms of animal resistance. Three experimental films, created in 2023 with the support of the Culture & Animals Foundation, are a key element of this exhibition. Surprising juxtapositions of images from spaces inhabited by humans – pools, apartments, staircases – and the closed world of animals in zoos and aquariums lead us to reflections on how close we truly are to one another. These films, enriched with original soundtracks, become a form of visual-sound poetry, transporting us to a world of coexistence and interspecies solidarity.

Marta Bogdańska draws inspiration from the research of thinkers such as Éric Baratay, Donna Haraway, and Jason Hribal, who in their works address animal perspectives and critique anthropocentrism. Her exhibition is also a response to the exploitative model of humanity that has led to the ecological crisis. The artist raises questions about animal resistance, their subjectivity, and how we can understand their agency. Bogdańska's works, similar to those in the 'SHIFTERS' project, examine the role of animals in historical processes, giving her work a philosophical and intellectual dimension.

'There is something infinite that can be experienced in the gaze of an animal' – Marta Bogdańska recalls the words of Rainer Maria Rilke, trying to capture what is invisible in interspecies relationships. Her works not only document but also raise questions about who is looking and who is being observed, what barriers exist between us and other species, and how we can break them down. The exhibition 'Vive la Résistance!' encourages a change of perspective, a rejection of anthropocentrism, and the recognition of animals as equal partners in negotiations regarding our shared living space.

The guided tour of the exhibition with the artist will be led by Olga Łacna, the exhibition curator, who emphasizes that Marta Bogdańska's project raises fundamental questions about interspecies hierarchy – questioning established roles and positions in the world of humans and animals.

The exhibition will be accompanied by numerous educational activities, such as artistic workshops, meetings with Marta Bogdańska, and discussion panels dedicated to interspecies communication. A detailed schedule of events is available on the Fort Photography Institute's website.

Marta Bogdańska is a multidisciplinary artist whose work combines archival research with artistic expression. Her projects, including the globally recognized series 'SHIFTERS,' have been presented at international exhibitions and gained recognition for their innovative approach to interspecies communication. Through her works, Bogdańska seeks to redefine the relationships between humans and animals, showing that what we perceive as other can simultaneously be an integral part of our world.

The exhibition is funded by the first edition of the National Grant Program Artistic Journey of Hestia, which supports artistic projects addressing contemporary challenges and those whose message relates to our shared responsibility for the world we live in. The Artistic Journey of Hestia Foundation, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024, aims to support art as a universal language for telling stories about the world around us. More information about the activities of the APH Foundation can be found on the website www.artystycznapodrozhestii.pl

Information about the exhibition and accompanying events can be found at: www.fiff.org.pl

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Funded by the Artistic Journey of Hestia Foundation<br
Exhibition partners: Artistic Journey of Hestia Foundation, STU ERGO Hestia S.A., Artibo<br
Patrons of the IFF Foundation: Fort Mokotów, White Stone Development<br
Translation: Agnieszka Sobolewska, Kaja Burakiewicz<br
Expert consultation: Dr. hab. Prof. UŁ Anita Jarzyna<br
Exhibition production: Julia Pietrzak-Szczudło<br
Printing and framing of photos: Q-print<br
Wallpaper: Paweł Pogoda<br
Construction of the set design and installation of the exhibition: Wiktor Korzeniowski<br
Sound design for video: Jarosław Downar<br
Video post-production: Paweł Sikora and Szymon Ronowicz<br
Color grading: Szymon Ronowicz<br
PR: Edyta Pawłowska