Filmoteka Muzeum

Paweł Althamer invited his neighbours from a residential block in the district of Bródno in Warsaw to participate in the project Common Task. The several-part project pivots around travelling – state that allows to adopt the role of a stranger or outsider, and take in the surrounding reality from a different point of view. “It’s high time we saw the places we live in with the eyes of the world” – as Althamer stated. What helped develop a distance towards the surrounding reality were the outfits – golden spacesuits with the logo of the project, bringing to mind science-fiction films. Those outfits accompanied the participants on their further journeys: to Brasilia (2009), Brussels (2009) and Oxford (2009/2010).

This film documents the journey to the modernist Brazilian capital – embodiment of architectural ideas, which resonate to a lesser extent also in the residential estate of Bródno. The travellers took part in carnival parades and rituals of a religious group, related to the use of cosmic energy in favour of one’s community. The schedule of the visit was not detailed – travelling brings about the necessity to react to unexpected situations and encounters. Such approach is well characteristic also of the practice of Althamer, who often pursues in his works the idea of opening art to social reality and remains on the lookout for the means of artistic expression in the field of community activities.

References: S. Cotter, Common Task, [in:] Paweł Althamer, London-New York 2011.
 

(AK)