THE INSTALLATION
“FIRST TRANSPORT”
AT CSW IN WARSAW
The installation constitutes the continuation of the project initiated by the artist in 2020. He was inspired by the conversation with Barbara Wojnarowska-Gautier, Auschwitz Survivor deported to the camp from the fire of Warsaw during the Uprising in August 1944 together with her parents Eugeniusz and Irena. She was three and a half years old at the time. Upon registration she received number 83638. She was liberated together with her mother on January 27th 1945. Today she holds the function of honorary custodian of the project. Daniel Echaust is its curator.
"I’ve been taking part in this project since the beginning of creation of the exhibition. From the moment when the Ujazdowski Castle was visited by Barbara Wojnarowska-Gautier and when the artist, together with the management, offered me the function of curator. However, I didn’t know what I would be supposed to coordinate”, Daniel Echaust said.
In the years 2020-21, Wojciech Korkuć performed within the urban space the project within the framework of which the files including the names, surnames and preserved photographs of first Polish prisoners of Auschwitz were displayed. This year, the artist concentrated on the youngest victims of the transport, also making an attempt to eliminate time-related distance thanks to the application of modern visual techniques, thus bringing it closer to today’s audience.
According to Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz Museum, the installation strikes with its simplicity: “It consists of the list of 728 prisoners from the first transport, with preserved camp photographs accompanying some of the names. They lead to a monumental red triangle with the letter “P” – the marking of a Polish political prisoner at the concentration camp. The route that visitors follow is accompanied by the sound of a train”.
"Walking along the lists and portraits, in the very middle, a powerful reference to current times is visible: the figures of selected prisoners were not only coloured by the authored, but also “dressed” in the outfits currently worn by the young. It results in very interesting elimination of distance between the generations”, Piotr Cywiński added.
Exhibition curator admits to have been unaware of huge emotional load of this subject: "Wojtek Korkuć allowed me to take part in the project in terms of its subject matter and to some extent artistic layer, but no one had warned me that after more than a month, the date of June 14th 1940 would be haunting me while falling asleep. I went very deeply into the topic, in a literally tangible way, and I know that God gave me a great life. The life with which I need to bear witness”.
Director Cywiński emphasized that the installation presented at the Ujazdowski Castle constitutes one more piece of evidence of the power of minimalism in art: “Instead of outtalking the history including its various aspects and details it is possible, in a simple and powerful way, to present its essence: concrete individuals. This creates a strong bridge of empathy and visitor’s identification with the victim’s humanity."
The installation is available for visitors at the Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw (CSW) until August 14th 2022.
The Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw (CSW) presents the installation by Wojciech Korkuć entitled “The First Transport”. It is devoted to the group of 728 Poles deported on June 14th 1940 by the Germans to the Auschwitz concentration camp, under construction at the time, from the prison in Tarnów. This event marks the beginning of the functioning of the camp.
Paweł Sawicki
Photos: The Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art in Warsaw