Untitled

Krzysztof Olszewski, also known as KED (born in 1970), is an artist working on the borderline of various fields of art. Olszewski puts strong emphasis on photography, which is usually the final effect of his actions. Reaching the moment when, thanks to a camera shutter, he can dot the proverbial i’s and cross the t’s is one of the overarching principle of his works. The Wystaw[k]a series, which comprises about a dozen photographs – two of which are a part of the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin – date back to 2007 and illustrate the artist's characteristic working method. In the Wystaw[k]a project, taking photos was the last element of a three-stage process of creating a work of art. In the preparatory phase, the artist produced the background material – in this case it was a working photographic documentation made by Olszewski during his travels around Europe. Its aim was to take pictures of things put up in front of houses, which their previous owners wanted to get rid of. In the second phase, the material was used to select places and objects, which the artist used to arrange fictional living spaces – rooms, halls, kitchens and bathrooms made of old, discarded objects. These arrangements, or artistic installations in contemporary art parlance, were created in open urban space, in places where individual objects were found. Casting himself in the role of their new user, Olszewski played out scenes from everyday life, introducing elements of performance – a genre of art in which the artist himself and his actions become works of art. The resulting series of photographs sums up the process combining elements characteristic of several modes of artistic expression.

Magdalena Lewoc