Bogusław Bachorczyk: Wish You Were Here

The exhibition I would like you to be here spans several decades of Boguslaw Bachorczyk's work. The earliest works date from the 1990s. Their roots are strongly intertwined with the artist's biography, and they also reflect the situation, including the elusive social and political atmosphere of Poland during the times of transformation. The artist deeply experiences the process of a boy's maturation to the role of a man that his family, society and the authorities would like him to be. He breaks through the canons and schemes, visits the pantheon of heroes, constantly fighting for himself. His weapon is art. He selects ever new techniques – collage, object, installation, painting, he reaches for archive materials, plays with aesthetics, searching for the most accurate approach. He is extremely free in this. He changes the mood of his comments, he does not castrate himself from his emotions.

And although the situation for LGBTQ+ people has improved since Bachorczyk's bitterly recalled 1990s, their rights are still being played out by politicians. The artist, however, is not in the habit of complaining. On the contrary. By touching on bitter and difficult experiences, he finds strength and serenity. As he says himself, his works are "about the joy of living in Poland".