BELFAST.- A performance unfolding through the encounter of two artists, each rooted in distinct realms and media: the visual arts and music.
Together, they will seek to open a space of inquiry, asking:
–Can a crowd become a community? At what point does a gathering begin to embody a collective spirit?
–Does taking away of a name erode our humanity?
–What force lies within names, and how do they shape our existence?
–And what if, upon entering the gallery, we were to surrender our subjectivity, becoming objects, the very material of art itself?
–Would it feel like a threat, or might the dissolution of identity reveal itself as a form of delight?
Oskar Dawicki (born 1971)—performer, creator of video works, photographs, installations and objects. In 1996, he graduated in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, where, together with Radosław Nowakowski and Wojciech Kiwi Jaruszewski, he formed the Tu Performance group in the 1990s, inspired by the work of Zbigniew Warpechowski. In 2001, together with Igor Krenz, Wojciech Niedzielko and Łukasz Skąpski, he founded the supergroup Azorro, which existed until 2010. Since 1994, he has been performing as a performer, and since 1995 in his characteristic blue brocade jacket. In 2010, he became the protagonist of the semi-fictional book W połowie puste. Życie i twórczość Oskara Dawickiego (Half Empty: The Life and Work of Oskar Dawicki) by Łukasz Gorczyca and Łukasz Ronduda, which was adapted into a feature film in 2014, Performer, in which the artist played himself. In his work, he uses the language of irony, which is often a starting point for self-reflection. Oskar Dawicki is the patron of the Monument to Neurotics. Oskar's Puddle by Rafał Bujnowski, unveiled in 2019 at Aleje Ujazdowskie 4 in Warsaw. In 2008, he participated in Manifesta 7. He lives and works in Warsaw.
Hubert Zemler—drummer, composer, music producer, improviser, performer, educator, and author of soundtracks for film, animation, and theatre.
He graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (now the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music) in Warsaw, where he studied percussion from 1999 to 2004.
Zemler is a highly regarded interpreter of contemporary music. His repertoire spans works by 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Helmut Lachenmann (AIR, performed at the opening concert of the 2015 Warsaw Autumn Festival ), Steve Reich (with the group Kwadrofonik – Polish premieres of Music for 18 Musicians and Daniel Variations), Terry Riley, Zygmunt Krauze, and many others.
In parallel with his classical training, he has played in jazz ensembles, becoming one of the most active drummers on Poland’s improvised, experimental, and free jazz scene.
As a soloist, he performs and records both his own compositions and improvisations. Together with Felix Kubin, he forms CEL, a duo exploring the interplay between acoustic instruments and electronic devices.
He collaborates with artists across genres, including Piotr Kurek, Jon Gibson, John Tilbury, Todd Barton, Ben Frost, Agustí Fernández, Wacław Zimpel, Agata Zubel, and bands such as Mitch & Mitch, Magneto, and Zemiter, to name but a few. Alongside Oskar Dawicki, Piotr Adamski, and Mikołaj Małek, he co-founded the performative music group PROSZEK.
Over the years, Zemler has steadily expanded the scope of his artistic practice, seeking out opportunities to disrupt or reframe established realities. His work often traverses subtle stylistic boundaries while remaining rooted in organic expression and a strong emotional presence.
The performance is a part of "RADICAL HOPE" exhibition.
Radical Hope—an exhibition of works from "Collection II" owned by the Arsenal Gallery in Białystok—part of the UK/Poland Season 2025.
Artists: Hubert Czerepok, Zhanna Kadyrova, Diana Lelonek, Lada Nakonechna, Marina Naprushkina, Konrad Smoleński, Piotr Uklański.
Curator: Monika Szewczyk / Co-operation: Peter Richards / Co-ordination: Sarah McAvera, Mary Stevens, Eliza Urwanowicz-Rojecka.
The event is part of the UK/Poland Season 2025 organized by the British Council, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Institute of Polish Culture in London, funded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland.
Organisers: Adam Mickiewicz Institute / Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast / Arsenal Gallery in Białystok.
