Ryszard Górecki. Zwierzęta w Powstaniu Warszawskim | Ryszard Górecki. Animals in the Warsaw Uprising

Animals in the Warsaw Uprising is one of nine book objects by Ryszard Górecki (1956-) produced as part of the Edycje series. Published by Invisible Sign. Like the other works in the series, it is the result of artistic manipulation and an intelligent game with the viewer. Górecki offers a non-existent book, published by a fictitious publishing house of his own invention, in which he analyses a provocative theme, presented in a perverse way. The whole is complemented by a surprising, ironic intervention in documentary photography from insurgent Warsaw. Through a computer photomontage, a group of insurgent soldiers appears flanked by a fighting elephant and a monkey armed with a hand grenade. Commenting on his anti-war works, the artist emphasises that he often uses tactics to domesticate and ridicule militarism and the military, which in national contexts are objects of pride and even sanctity. A critical attitude towards the Warsaw Uprising is marginalised in Polish historical and political discourse and arouses strong social emotions. Górecki's work is a counterpoint to the dominant view and visualisation of the Uprising experience. It is an intelligent, challenging idea that refuses to exclude even the most sensitive areas of communal experience from the realm of critical reflection. Magdalena Lewoc