Piotr Uklański works with a variety of media such as photography, installations, video and performance, and plays with popular culture and the clichés prevailing within them. He rose to fame in Poland with his controversial exhibition shown at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw in 2000 featuring photos of famous actors wearing Nazi uniforms. Although Uklański lives and works in New York, for the last twenty years his art has focused on Poland and its national mythology, iconography and religious symbols. Some best known examples are his works Solidarity and John Paul II – photos taken from a bird’s eye view depicting human figures arranged to display the trade union logo and the Pope’s profile, respectively. The exhibition Piotr Uklański “Poland” at the Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow presents the artist’s photos inspired by the results of the most recent general election and this year’s celebrations of the centenary of Poland’s independence. Speaking of the exhibition, the artist says, “Finding itself at a crossroads, the Polish society must urgently find answers to some key question: who are Poles? Where are we heading as a nation? What shapes our sense of identity, history, common goals?” (Dorota Dziunikowska, “Karnet” monthly)
