Down with Maciuś

The drawing depicts King Maciuś the First, who is looking at a crowd of people unfavourable to him. It is a continuation of the work Niech żyje Maciuś [Long Live Maciuś] (MPOLIN-M435) - its negative. Maciuś, who once enjoyed enormous popularity, has lost it. In the exhibition's scenography, the two works functioned inseparably: a large print of curtains and Maciuś looking out of the window was mounted on the wall, while in the window first one and then the other representation of the view from behind the glass was projected.

As the exhibition curators Anna Czerwińska and Tamara Sztyma commented: The exhibition ends bittersweet. Maciuś realises that he will always have both supporters and opponents. Such is the nature of democracy. We juxtaposed two illustrations by Chmielewska for this purpose. In one, Maciuś looks out of the window at a crowd with a banner of those who love him, in the other, those who criticise him. One image changes into another, showing that there is no escape from this duality, explains Czerwińska. - But in the end, the fact that Maciuś was not afraid to act is his victory. It is very Korczakian not to leave the world as it is. You have to try to change it, says Sztyma (A. Konieczyńska, Powtórka z demokracji [Democracy Revision] https://www.vogue.pl/a/lekcja-demokracji, accessed 30.07.2021).