Marcin Dudek - SLASH & BURN

Marcin Dudek was 12 years old and living in a housing block outside Krakow when the Berlin Wall finally toppled. Poland's freefall into capitalism followed as the country reeled from severe shortages, skyrocketing inflation, and suddenly defunct industry. For many, food was scarce. Money, more than hard to come by. A frayed social fabric, lacking civic associations, left children vulnerable to new allegiances. Dudek grew up in a concrete housing estate in Kraków's Podgorze district. Like many youths born into bleak economic circumstances, conflict with authority and institutions seemed inevitable, and his childhood friends rejected the rules, regulations, and failed promises of the broader civic system. Their futures felt lost in the national transition. Before becoming a teenager, he followed his older brother into the arms of a wild group of football supporters who created havoc in and outside the local stadium. Admiration was expressed for those who took pleasure in risk, revolt, and rising adrenaline levels. Over time, many from this group moved from the council estate into the prison block as petty crimes escalated into enterprising criminal endeavors. Thanks in part to his sister, Dudek found an alternative path, moving to Salzburg, Austria, to attend the University of Art Mozarteum. He found work in art galleries, learned German, and later moved to London, earning an MFA at Central Saint Martins while working as a technician to cover costs.

SLASH & BURN has some of Marcin's key creations in that period, focusing on what he refers to as Memory Boxes and touching on other elements of practice, including collage, performance, sculpture, and research.

Editing and sequencing: Marcin Dudek & Tom Besters
Design: Tom Besters
224 pages
21 x 26 cm
English
Texts by: Harlan Levey & Olivia Perce
Publication date: May 2023
ISBN: 9789464002294