Never Again? / Ніколи знову?

The works presented in the exhibition come from the collections of the State Museum at Majdanek. Over the years, it has been expanded with works shown during the International Art Triennials. The first three editions were held under the subtitle “against the war”, which was later abandoned. Although the iconography presented in the early years of the collection depicted the horrors of war in a very literal way, it gradually took on a more universal character. This is largely because of the time that has passed, which detaches us from those experiences. Also, due to the geographical distance from contemporary armed conflicts, artists express their opposition with an emotional reserve. The war in Ukraine has significantly reduced this distance. When war became a reality rather than a distant threat, it changed our perception of security and sense of community, and made us realise that political structures and democracy cannot be taken for granted.

How has our perception of these pieces changed, since we also experience war even today? The exhibition arose from reflection on the relevance of the anti-war art, but also from the need to once again manifest this relentless protest, even though its postulates, are apparently so difficult to fulfill.