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During the crown pandemic, the Polish government took the opportunity to present a bill that would make Polish abortion laws more restrictive. After strong criticism, the proposal was temporarily shelved, but the protests spread to the art world.
By hanging a sign with the slogan of the Polish protest movement: “women’s hell” in front of the old Palace of Art of Ujazdowski Castle, the international group of artists wanted to show their support to those who, due to the pandemic, could not protesting in the streets and squares against a new restrictive abortion law.
– It was a way of showing solidarity, says artist Dani Ploeger.
He did the job
The head of the art room, Piotr Bernatowicz, responded to the movement with his own reinterpretation of the work. Bernatowicz changed the message to “Abortion = Women’s Hell” and included information on the number of aborted fetuses in Poland. The work was uploaded online again.
“In accordance with Polish law, I have exercised my right to quote, or pastiche, from an existing job,” Piotr Bernatowicz writes in an email to Cultural News.
He sees his video as a “creative dialogue” with the artists, noting that they never asked permission to hang the banner from the start:
“As a citizen and thinking person, I see abortion as the death of innocent and unborn children.”
Director of disputed art
Piotr Benatowizc, is a controversial figure in Polish cultural life. It was appointed by the Minister of Culture, with a seven-year contract, rather than an open application process. Critics in the art world see it as an outstretched arm of a government that wants to control Polish culture in a more patriotic and nationalistic direction.
Artist Dani Ploeger does not buy the statement that it would be an artistic dialogue, but sees the act as propaganda and possible copyright infringement.
– If another artist had taken our work and done something like that, I would have thought that the person was an idiot, but that he was fine. He is now the head of a publicly funded institution. It’s about power and how, as the director of an art institution, you interact with your residential artists and the art world in general.
