'Suspension Condition' - Teresa and Andrzej Welminski

About

‘Objects and costumes must be works of art, not decorations to be thrown out on the rubbish heap after a theatre play….’ 

Tadeusz Kantor

‘Suspension Condition’ showcases the works of Teresa and Andrzej Welminski. They present the original objects, machines and installations, originally made for their theatre spectacles.

The objects cross into different forms of art, they sit on the border of different worlds and different levels of understanding; some can be seen as models, grown up toys, archaic horror chambers in which the objects are traps. In others, absurd, irony, circus and humour dominates.

On the whole, they form a certain kind of theatre of objects and machines in itself.

The objects and performance actions lack narrative, they exist on their own, suspended without a story.

Those objects become relicts of a sort, remains, fragments entangled in associations and allusions. Before, they functioned in the real world of theatre, now they are in suspended condition…

Taken out of their original context, they claim a new existence….

Each has its own history, its own inner sense, a tension and meaning.

The aim of this exhibition is to expose their independence.

The drawings and graphics provide additional comment, together with fragments of spectacles to which these objects belong.

Andrzej Wełmiński and his wife Teresa, graduates of ASP Krakow both worked with the renown Tadeusz Kantor and his theatre ‘Cricot 2’ on all its productions and tours from 1972. After Kantor’s death in 1990, they continued his legacy, creating numerous plays and winning awards in festivals in London, Edinburgh, Bratislava, Moscow, Iran, USA and his home town, Krakow were they are based. Apart from being theatre directors, both are also actors involved in educational practices around the world. They were regular visitors to Britain since 1982, cooperating from 2011 with Rose Bruford College, their joint productions going to Edinburgh and other cities in Europe.

An Interesting connection is the figure of the legendary Edward Gordon Craig and his interest in ‘marionettes’, as Bruno Shultz’s was in ‘mannequins’ and Kantor’s ‘Theatre of Death’ - ‘the condition of the dead is similar to the condition of an actor, as the ‘the one who performs is different, estranged’ and again, ‘the condition of the dead is similar to the mannequin'. The Coronet is the theatre where Gordon Craig had his plays performed, it could not be a better place to host the UK premiere of Wełmińskis’ play which was staged there in July 2018. 

In POSK Gallery, Teresa and Adrzej Welminski present their theatre 'objects' and their original drawings and sketches. There will be a short film and an artists' talk at the Private View.