Artur Zmijewski @ Collective Gallery

How can they paint over our freedom? demands a girl in dismay. She stands in the large space surrounded by the canvases, collages and emblems of her peers, and seemingly, of her opposition. Chaos ensues around her as members of various teams begin to destroy the work of others, wielding knives and blowtorches. This is the latest offering from The Collective Gallery: startling in its conflict, Them is the work of Polish video artist and filmmaker Artur Zmijewski. The piece documents an event staged by Zmijewski. The protagonists are in four teams, all of Polish nationality but from very different ideological backgrounds. They are all given the tools to illustrate their views on canvas. Having been told that there are no rules they begin to alter each other's expressions, quietly at first but eventually using violent and extreme techniques. In Them, art imitates art and it packs a poignant punch. In the final scene the camera pans across the littered, destroyed room and lingers on the charred frames of the paintings. Walking out of the projection room in The Collective's first space, I notice a table upon which lies a roll of canvas. The potential danger of the inanimate scene lingers. [Gabriella Griffith]