“WAITING ROOM” by Łukasz Surowiec

The ‘Waiting Room’ by Łukasz Surowiec is one of the works presented at the exhibition ‘Skip the line! Populism and promises of modernity “organized by Biennale Warsaw with headquarters at ul. Marszałkowska 34/50. The exhibition lasts until November 30.

About the exhibition

“SKIP THE LINE!!” read the ads in Europe’s leading tourist centres: pay only a few euros more, avoid the queue, and outsmart everyone else.

The exhibition speaks about the rhetoric of promises: those which can be fulfilled and those absolutely unrealistic; about the wishful language of politics and global capitalism; and finally, about the bitter taste of disappointment when a promise meets reality.

The exhibition deals with the subject of populism – a phenomenon which, among other features, addresses and responds to the needs of “the people.” But who are the people, what unites this group, and how do they articulate their needs? Perhaps, “the people” does not even exist, but then who and why has invented it?

The presented works reflect on the nature of today’s language of politics and media, on how the words attempt to shape reality. The exhibition points to the connections and similarities between the neoliberal cult of freedom with its promise of individual success, and illiberal populism which value freedom and independence of an individual, a state, and a nation. Skip the line! aims to comment on the ongoing political processes in Central Europe and the world; but instead of its effects on public life, it focuses on mechanisms and the rhetorical constructions behind them

(source: organizator’s materials)