http://piotrkopik.com back to main page action and exhibition by Piotr Kopik and Ivo Nikić CELLARS PIWNICE CCA Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, 2004 curator: Stach Szabłowski Piotr Kopik and Ivo Nikić, a pair of young artists already known for their activities with the Szu-Szu artistic group, have chosen to work in the CCA’s Cistern space this time, transforming it into their vision of a cellar by filling it with old cupboards, sleds, a bicycle, a television set, much dust, old paintings, jarred foods... The television set shows a film from the artists’ tour of various cellars and their efforts to gather pieces for the installation. “We visited various cellars, from where we took things for this project. Almost all cellars are cluttered. Objects have been literally thrown and stuffed inside, though at first they might seem arranged. They constitute ready-made “paintings.” In a series of close shots, the camera initially seems to record abstract jumbles. After a moment you notice specific objects, objects that cause the cellars’ owners to react in a lively manner. They begin to tell the stories of the items. In the film we hear scraps of conversations about old possessions. Cellars are rarely visited places. Their owners often do not know what they contain. They see them with the same eyes we do, meaning they seem them “afresh.” Every individual tries to comment on the appearance of their cellar. Our project in some ways a television show. Virtually by surprise, we would arrive at someone’s home, take them to their cellar, and film them. We reveal a bit of the private sphere, the few square meters below ground that belongs to each apartment.”