Ex Oriente Luxus
Luxus group
2019
installation, vinyl tent, elements of historic lighting systems
The idea of light from the East (ex oriente lux), perceived as the light of wisdom, appears discredited these days. We are proud of our western civilization and tend to consider the East as a threat. At the same time, the luxury coming from the East is accepted with full approval. We are happy to go on holiday to Oriental countries, ignoring the poverty, dictatorships and other things absolutely incompatible with our European values. The illuminated tent, situated on the east-west line, symbolizes this transition. We, the rich tourists-consumers, are still hungry for a better life in our world. It is a passage through a mirage, something dazzlingly bright, but also blinding and unreal. That is why our tent is filled with luminous, colourful and rather kitschy elements. Inside it is hot, blindingly bright and only seemingly pleasant.
Luxus - an artistic group currently comprising Ewa Ciepielewska, Jacek Ponton Jankowski, Bożena Grzyb-Jarodzka, Paweł Jarodzki, Jerzy Kosałka, Szymon Lubiński, Małgorzata Plata, Stanisław Sielicki. Their practice is dominated by situational-relational strategies, but they equally often use objects, text, installations and classical painting.