SKAJ IS THE LIMIT. IZA SZOSTAK

On the occasion of opening the new MSN venue, Iza Szostak is revisiting her 2019 piece Skaj is the Limit, which premiered towards the end of her choreographic residency at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. The artist about her own project:

The 1990s in Poland saw the opening of borders, imagination, new TV channels, and the free market. The thoughts of Polish society were cut through with dreams of success as sharp as the Tiger Safety razor blades. Those who had a smart briefcase, a sable fur coat and a powerful car were seen to be successful; others had to make do with crystal chandeliers made of plastic, an artificial leather (in Polish called “skaj”) sofa with a matching footstool, and cut amphetamine.

Transformation is a transition stage, when the previous system no longer works and the new one has not yet been fully implemented. The body of society, the political body and the physical body are all being transformed. In Skaj Is the Limit, Iza Szostak queers the transformation archive. She has designed a non-normative reality, in which objects choose to exist outside the reproductive time of the heteronorm. The performance validates failure and weakness, taking the viewpoint of fake luxury goods – ever-present, living witnesses to history.

The event is part of the opening’s Choreographic Programme. With more than twenty shows, the audience will be offered an opportunity to witness diverse artistic strategies and a multitude of formal takes. The programme includes works in progress, dance acts and choreographic installations, with spectacular group productions sharing space with intimate solo activities.