A jesmonite cast of the jacket worn during performances such as 'Saved by an Unseen Crack' and '46 seconds', Marcin Dudek’s work MA Fine Art acts as an archive of...
A jesmonite cast of the jacket worn during performances such as "Saved by an Unseen Crack" and "46 seconds", Marcin Dudek’s work MA Fine Art acts as an archive of studio practice and performative action. The objects embedded in the sculpture are collected from past happenings as well as from the floor of the artist's studio - steel dust, pieces of tools, canisters from smoke grenades... all kinds of trash which become incorporated into the artistic vessel. The performative energy is tangible; the jacket is shown in a dynamic motion and appears to be exploding from the inside out, with burn marks and wounds which reveal hidden aspects of the artist’s practice.
The jacket itself is the same that was worn by hooligans in the 90s in Poland. During conflicts, the jacket would be turned inside-out from black to orange to signal the onset of violence. Dudek wears this jacket during most of his performances, in which he takes on his teenage persona. Questioning the structures of indoctrination, the title of the work draws a parallel between the uniform of the hooligans and the uniform of the artist; upon leaving art school artists are almost immediately pigeonholed, becoming a member of a group; taking on their habits and their vocabulary. In this work, the uniform becomes something that reveals the interior rather than hiding it. It becomes a vessel for memories - leftover objects and intangible sentiments.