Construction in process. 1981-2000

The catalogue of the international Construction In Process project presents one of the most important initiatives of the artistic avant-garde. This unprecedented event, realised on an international scale with the participation of many prominent artists from around the world, began in Poland and was continued in Western Europe, Israel and Australia. Construction In Process was initiated in Łódź in 1981 by Ryszard Waśko, and organised under the auspices of the Solidarity Trade Union. As an artistic manifestation of the support of the freedom social movement, it was erased from the cultural calendar in Poland after the declaration of martial law. The catalogue of the first Construction was published a year later in New York by its American participants.

The publication shows the pioneering nature of presenting art as a process, as the construction of forms and ideas that function in the social space. The extensive documentation offers a look into several hundred works from seven editions of Construction In Process — works that were created in relation to places, as well as their cultural and social context. Video and photographic records show the changing scenery of successive editions of the event — from the post-industrial space of ‘working’ Łódź to the rocky landscape of a desert or the park complex in the picturesque Pałuki. They allow us to see how artists responded to the challenge of changing places and cultural conditions.