For this reason, when the need arises, it ceases to be an art, and it becomes a forum where diagnoses are usually pushed to the margin of discourse problems – all taboos, phobias, fears. The aesthetic function of the theater is to a large extent its additional function.
The presented cycle, whose theme is primarily human confusion and loneliness, consists of photographs taken both in the theatre and on the streets. This juxtaposition serves to show that the boundary between art and life currently does not exist at all (and perhaps never existed). Modern performances are increasingly making the performer a recipient, although this should not be understood as a real physical interaction with the audience, rather it is about launching mental processes. The photographs presented at the exhibition draw attention to the contemporary relationship between the actor and the viewer, who in today’s postmodern reality is based primarily on compassionate (bodily) presence, not on the (intellectual) order of representation. It is also worth trying to answer one question on this occasion. To what extent does the theatre reflect social behavior, and to what extent does human behaviour derive from the aesthetics of contemporary spectacles, and not only theatrical ones? I took the pictures between 2015 and 2018. I hope that even to a small extent they reflect the changing social moods in these years, not only in Wrocław, but also throughout Poland.
Tobiasz Papuczys