Gay Anger

It began with “Homosexuality” (presented last year at Kronika in Bytom). “Sexuality,” modeled on the 1980s transformation of “Solidarity” by Jerzy Janiszewski, was created for Paweł Żukowski’s latest exhibition. These slogans do not function as abstract concepts or elements of identity declaration; rather, they record a specific lived experience that developed alongside the history of Poland’s political transformation. A generation raised in the shadow of Solidarity grew up believing that community and the struggle for freedom were universal in character. At the same time, the experience of queer people was excluded from this narrative—absent from underground publications and invisible in the political and social language of that period.

Paweł Żukowski’s works focus on the tension between these orders. On the one hand, there is the ethos of solidarity, collective action, and political engagement; on the other, the lack of any real translation of these values into the lived reality of non-heteronormative individuals. This tension is not merely historical—it remains current and visible today.

Visually, Żukowski draws on an aesthetic derived from public space—stickers, wall inscriptions, street signage—operating on the boundary between political messaging and personal expression. He combines these with direct references to sexuality, presenting it as part of social reality rather than solely a private sphere. Works developed during his residency at the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles also introduce a reflection on language and identity: on the impossibility of simply naming a community, and on how images and visual interventions can redefine it. Their form—based on stickers, stencils, and direct gestures—is treated as a tool for real action rather than merely image production. An important aspect of these works is also the question of the relationship between activism and pleasure: must political action be defined exclusively by mobilization and conflict, or can it also encompass desire, relationships, and the everyday experience of the body?

“GAY ANGER” does not attempt to construct a coherent or reconciliatory narrative. Instead, it points to the continuity of problems from the 1980s to the present, as well as to the lack of significant change in the situation of queer people in Poland. In this context, the reference to solidarity is not an act of nostalgia, but an attempt to redefine the concept and to ask who is truly included in the community—and where its boundaries lie.

The exhibition is supported by the JMS Foundation.