Artur Zmijewski - Habana Libre

Kalmar konstmuseum is proud to present the first large solo presentation in Sweden of the Polish artist Artur Żmijewski (born 1966), whose work has been shown at Documenta in Kassel, the Venice Biennale, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Żmijewski’s films often deal with how average people act and react in response to specific social circumstances—such as war, their history, their work situation, or a sense of powerlessness. The artist shows how social and economic conditions influence an individual’s perception of reality and therefore his or her behavior. Several of his films, particularly in recent years, concentrate on the dynamics between various groups and their shifting concepts of reality. In the end, Żmijewski’s films address concepts such as democracy and the conditions necessary for people to live together in peace.

This exhibition includes the world premier of a new work by Żmijewski, Habana Libre, which was filmed in Cuba. In addition we will be screening My Neighbours (2009), March of the Living (2009), and Repetition (2005). My Neighbours was filmed in Israel following the war in Gaza in the winter of 2008-9 and deals with the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. March of the Living was filmed in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2009. These two films have become tangibly relevant in the wake of the recent Palestinian aid flotilla incident. Repetition is a reconstruction of a controversial and widely discussed psychological experiment at Stanford University in 1971 by Professor Philip Zimbardo. The experiment was conducted in a mock prison setting and divided graduate students into two groups—prisoners and guards.

Artur Zmijewski
Habana Libre
Curator: Martin Schibli