Piotrkow
Trybunalski, one of the
oldest
cities in Poland.
Piotrkow
Trybunalski, which was an
important industrial centre for
textiles and wood and glass products.
Piotrkow
Trybunalski, which was annexed by Russia for 100 years.
Piotrkow
Trybunalski, which was a capital before a city for many years.
Piotrkow
Trybunalski, which was the first guetto established by the Nazis
during the second war.
Piotrkow
Trybunalski
which
is part of Holocaust History Archives.
It's
what i read on internet before
going to Poland.
Holocaust.
Like
Holocaust of polish forest. It's the name they give to the massacre
of trees, linked to the Szysko's
Law.
It's
wat a polish friend wrote me, before going
to
Poland.
It's
my first time in Poland.
There
are my first steps on this earth.
The
earth where was born Grotowski, who inspired me so much during my
first steps in theatre world.
On
the way from airport to the city, a lot of construction works.
On
the way from the gallery
to the hotel,
a lot of churchs.
A
lot of churches, a lot of crosses, a lot of Jesus, a lot of candles
and
wreath of flowers,
a lot of abandoned buildings...
A
belgian friend told me :
"When
you'll go to Piotrkow
Trybunalski, go to the end of the city.
Go
to the end of the road and then you'll see a jewish cemetery.
Completely
abandoned.
Go
to see this place."
At
the end of the road,
after
many very well maintained cemeteries,
after
many shops of flowers and candels and all material to celebrate dead
people,
after
many construction works,....
There,
at the end of the road, on a corner, is a small cemetery. Closed and
abandoned. The jewish cemetery.
There,
the tombs sit among the tall grasses.
There,
the dead seem not celebrated but abandoned among grasses and old
trees.
Only
a dog, an old man and old woman seem to take care of the death.
At
the entrance, on
a panel, is written in
polish and english:
"The
Piotrkow Trybunalski Municipal Government has be since 1996 engaged
in the restoration of the Jewish Cemetery in Piotrkowie Trybunalskim.
So
far, the following work was performed:
-
construction of lapidorium
-
reconstruction of small entrance gate
-
renovation of iron entrance and the wicket at the main gate
-
levelling more than 400 inclined or lying tombstones
-
reconstruction of 40 tombstones frames
-
maintenance work on more than 500 of burial plants
-
the design for reconstruction of the cementery's fencing wall
-
maintenance work involving the felling of self sown sucker trees and
mowing of grass at arranged areas.
The
works are carried out under the supervision of Mr.... "
The
day before
that,
at the
gallery, Lidka
and Vwodek,
gave
me
some
help to save
a tree srpout
from some
dumping ground behind the building. From
small pieces of glass.
And
then, on 11th may, on morning...
Let
me to lie down at the middle of busy people.
Let
me to offer something free at the middle of shops.
Let
me to offer seeds, by looking to the sky beyond the glass dome.
And
then, on 11th may, on evening...
Let
me to be naked.
Let
me to be a
naked
body.
A
naked
body to celebrate the ephemeral of bodies, the ephemeral of life.
A
naked
body to celebrate the vulnerability.
Vulnerability
to
face
the art world related to status, money and appearance.
Vulnerability
to
face
belief, bigotry, sexism and social body.
Vulnerability
to
face
Extreme Right.
Let
me to feel naked.
Feel
naked like birds
Like
some birds who attack windows
Like
birds who are injured by guns
"C'est
les oiseaux, jamais les balles, qu'on attaque en plein vol" was
singing Anna Prucnal, who was born in Warsaw in 1940.
"It
is the birds, never the bullets, that are attacked in their full
flight"...
Feel
naked
Feel
naked like humans
Like
some humans who attack walls or boundaries when some other spend
their sunday with training in paramilitary groups. In Poland they are
called " Sunday Soldiers"
Like
humans who are killed by other humans
Like
women who were crucified
Tell
me...
Is
it thrue that in Russia some farmers crucified women considered as
witches during the 1921 famine?
Is
it thrue that Florus ordered to crucify more than 3000 people?
Is
it thrue that many women were crucified during the armenian genocide?
Why
do we crucify?
Since
when do we crucify?
What's
our feeling when we see a crucified body?
What's
our feeling when we see a naked body against a wall?
What's
this fascination for crosses and crucifixions?
Where
is our fascination for earth and trees?
Earth
and trees
Earth
which is free and doesn't have walls and boundaries
Earth
which hosted us
Naked
Naked
as we were when we were born
Naked
and Free
Like
birds
Like
humans
A
long time ago
Before
we built walls and boundaries
A
long time ago....
Thanks to Antoine, Antoni, Gisela, Gordian, Lidka, Kuba, Ryszard, Stanislav Piotr, Tosia, Wodek, all the team, volunteers and artists of Interackje 2017.
