Like his earlier work "Akumulator" (2013-2018), "Zaklad" is a one-to-one scale replica of one of the rooms in a squatted basement of a Kraków council estate, referred to by Dudek as a "memory box". Following the dissolution of the Polish People’s Republic in 1989 and the ensuing confusion over property ownership and tenancy laws, the artist’s sister, Anna Dudek Gajewska, has been occupying the basement of the apartment building in which their family lives, and using it as a semi-clandestine hair salon. After entirely dismantling the original salon with all of its components, fixtures, and equipment, the artist has dislocated and rebuilt the space true to size. Human hair, collected from the salon over the past few years, is integrated into panels that form part of the architectural structure. Zaklad calls to mind the thousands of haircuts given, stories told, transactions handled here, making it a space of exchange and renewal. The work speaks to a fascination for the rituals of subculture and the DIY economy, while placing an emphasis on (female) labor and community.
This work was first shown as part of his exhibition “Akumulatory” at the IKOB Museum of Contemporary Art (Eupen, Belgium) in 2023. The exhibition was curated by Brenda Guesnet.
