text and direction: Bogna Burska
performed by: Arek Brykalski, Joanna Drozda, Mateusz Grydlik, Cezary Kosiński, Lech Łotocki, Krzysztof Ogłoza, Jakub Snochowski, Magdalena Warzęcha, Julia Wyszyńska (2015); Klara Bielawka, Arek Brykalski, Wiesław Cichy, Joanna Drozda, Rafal Fudalej, Andrzej Konopka, Maciek Pesta, Magdalena Warzęcha (2016); Michał Karwowski, Magdalena Kiszko-Dojlidko, Patryk Ołdziejewski, Błażej Piotrowski, Natalia Sakowicz, Wojciech Schabowski, Marek Tyszkiewicz, Maria Żynel (2017); Marek Barbasiewicz, Klara Bielawka, Arek Brykalski, Marcin Czarnik, Joanna Drozda, Rafal Fudalej, Mirosław Guzowski, Magdalena Kuta, Lech Łotocki, Maciej Pesta, Maria Robaszkiewicz (2018)
duration: 60 min.
curators: Hanna Wróblewska (2015), Jola Woszczenko (2016), Magda Godlewska (2017), Magda Komornicka (2018)
presentations: Zachęta National Gallery of Art in Warsaw (2015 and 2018), Theatre Institute in Warsaw (2015), Łaźnia Centre for Contemporary Art in Gdańsk (2016), Arsenał Gallery in Białystok (2017)
photos: Paweł Elbel, Michał Szlaga, Weronika Wysocka
film recording: Artur Prymon, Jonasz Chlebowski

text published in: Dialog, a monthly magazine devoted to contemporary dramaturgy, no. 9 (682), September 2013
book edition: CSW Kronika, Bytom, 2013
illustrations and graphic design: Maciek Salamon

The drama is set in a gallery before an opening, when tensions are running at their highest, and it turns out the power has gone out. The events that follow, presented according to conventions akin to those of the nativity play, are secondary to the grotesque portraits of figures (or rather types, as Burska avoids portraying specific people) from the artistic milieu. The author places emphasis on the poses and snobberies of these characters, the hierarchies and divisions they cultivate, and the strategies and trends they follow. The drama consists of interwoven notions and slogans used by the characters to “perform” their own images and position in this peculiar world. We cannot speak of “defiling one’s nest” here, but rather of engaging in self-ironic and self-critical observation. The Nest is something like a butterfly house, only one shown from the perspective of the butterfly. The Feminist Artist, who “criticizes with her whole body”, says:

So coming back to me
I yearn unconsciously
For my body blue and white
Oozing blood, engendering might
To bring forth, revealing to exist
The hidden power of a feminist (rubs her biceps like a bodybuilder)

The Nest shows that, in Bogna Burska’s case, part of this strength is having a sense of humour, which may not help one explode the institutional framework of the art world, but it will certainly help you bring in some fresh air. The performative reading of The Nest held at Zachęta in June 2018 (the venue for the reading was a joy in itself) was preceded by a prologue performed on the entrance stairs, which made use of the scene of the opening of the exhibition from act two. The speeches of the Director, Ambassador, Minister, Sponsor and Curator could all be successfully used in the ritual openings of all future exhibitions, as they contain all the necessary formulas for this, especially this one:

I’d like to comment on
how embarrassing it is not to know
what art is today
we already know that science
enjoys well-deserved prestige
but it won’t be especially revealing
to admit
that controversial art
has a reputation
but still, I’d like to emphasize
that we are unparalelled
in this awareness

excerpt from the text Acts of Action by Joanna Krakowska, catalogue Blood and Sugar. Works 2000–2021, published by Gdańsk City Gallery, Trafostacja Sztuki in Szczecin, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, 2021

2015, Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki w Warszawie
2015, Instytut Teatralny w Warszawa

2016, Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej Łaźnia w Gdańsku

2017, Galeria Arsenał w Białymstoku

2018, Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki w Warszawie