Polish Performance Archive

Description by Filmoteka Muzeum

The action was held during the opening of the exhibition On Apocalypse (Wobec apokalipsy) at the Galeria Bielska BWA (1999). The “set design” comprised signature components used by Wspólnota Leeeżeć (The Lyyying Community): fluorescent paints, totemic patterns, multi-part installations and techno music. The presence of apple and snake motifs as well as the title of the action invite references to the Biblical tale of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve and their expulsion from paradise. Yet, in this case, the tempter becomes annihilated. The film is not an exact record of the action. Extensive editing lends it a new quality that emerges from the pulsating shots of The Mechanism of Temptation (Mechanizm kuszenia).

The course of the action is described in more detail in the collective’s magazine Tygodnik Leeeżeć (The Lyyying Weekly): “Within the get-together titled On Apocalypse, WL declared its position in the form of The Mechanism of Temptation. Apart from the Tempter, the action obviously featured wooden logs, hammers, 13 cm swing hooks and a mirror. The miserable Tempter was chopped with a sledgehammer; his entrails were used to anoint bizarre images printed on the walls and the equally bizarre BWA director. Finally, the Tempter’s remnants soared on tight ropes, much to the applause of the crowd of viewers” (source: Michał Gralak, “Zapis działań”, Tygodnik Leeeżeć no. 99/1999)

Wspólnota Leeeżeć comprising: Andrzej Miastkowski vel Egon Fietke, Rafał Grochowski, sound: Jerzy Korzeń

(ND)