2009, ORGANIC LIFE, National Museum, Poznań

BERGAMOT GROUP

ORGANIC LIFE

Objects
2009
National Museum, Poznań, Poland

14 placards

The project consists of presenting a collection of 14 signs that were purchased or exchanged from beggars on the streets of various cities over the past few years. These signs are treated as intriguing artifacts, combining elements of a painterly object, a marketing message, urban folklore, and a peculiar literary form that attempts, in just a few sentences, to summarize the human condition and provoke an active response from the viewer. By framing the signs in elegant frames, we draw attention to their graphic and material qualities.

On one hand, the base becomes visible – expressively torn corrugated cardboard, book covers, or pieces of packaging; on the other, the bold, sometimes almost calligraphic handwriting. Displaying the signs in frames is an exhibition gesture (similar to how a work of art or a valuable document is presented), aimed at focusing attention on the object and granting it a special status.

The method of presentation is a crucial part of the project. Displayed in the window of the new MNP building facing Al. Marcinkowskiego, the works can be viewed without entering the museum, maintaining the connection between the project and the public space of the city. This mode of exhibition allows access to the intriguing literary form contained in the signs – a kind of haiku: condensed and dramatic, or openly lighthearted.

However, the original function of these interactive works of art is reduced – the museum glass prevents interaction, yet provokes reflection.

By extracting these voices from the noise of the street and placing them in an exhibition context, the project not only documents this type of urban communication but also transforms it into a testimony of the presence of people whom we usually try not to notice.