Concept

-2013-

In a city like Warsaw, which was almost completely destroyed during World War II, memorials function as signs of identities old and new. So with Heavy Weight History, Jankowski decided to rupture that historical narrative, to introduce lightness to a subject with such gravity – and have weightlifters try to lift the city’s monuments from the ground. “All the champions of Poland,” announces the professional sports commentator who follows the contest, describing the heroes from the world of sports who have accepted Jankowski’s challenge. One after another, they approach the monuments; some separate from their bases and rise into the air, but others don’t leave the ground. Syrena, a mermaid armed with a sword who serves as a Warsaw landmark, is raised up high. But the monument to the Warsaw Genuflection, from 1970, turns out to be too heavy; German chancellor Willy Brandt’s symbolic gesture of asking for forgiveness in front of the monument to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising stays put. The then US president, Ronald Reagan (to whom a monument from 2011 is dedicated), also refuses to budge, “just as he did in the era of the Iron Curtain,” says the commentator. Following the contest, the mood is euphoric: fans congratulate the athletes. History is revived through the combination of sports and art: “In this way, before our eyes, new history is created!” As chance would have it, the 2013 World Weightlifting Championships were also held in Poland. Parallel to their own event, the Polish Weightlifting Federation decided to organize a presentation of Heavy Weight History.

Performance

Video

Video (1 x HD Cam, 1 x Blu-ray), 25-46 min, PAL, 16:9, color, sound, Polish with subtitles (English), edition of 5, II

Photographs

7 b/w photographs on baryt paper, each 140 x 186.8 cm, edition of 5, II

Heavy Weight History (Ronald Reagan), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Syrenka), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Brotherhood of Arms), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Ludwig Warynski), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Little Insurgent), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Strong Man), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw

Heavy Weight History (Willy Brandt), installation view, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw