Artur Zmijewski: Democracies @ Tramway

Set against a backdrop of nationwide public concern over government funding cuts, and a heightened political engagement within the art world, Artur Zmijewski’s Democracies seems especially pertinent right now. The nineteen short films in the installation depict recent public protests, riots and celebrations that span the political spectrum from the extreme-left to the far-right and range from a demonstration by supporters of anti-abortion laws in Poland, to a weekly protest against the Israeli occupation in the West Bank. With student demos in Britain ongoing, however, there is no removed sense of ‘them and us’ about this work.

Mounted on all sides of the room and playing simultaneously (with English subtitles), the films surround the viewer and produce a cacophony of noise that is rousing and affecting. Though viewing the work is a communal activity, the level of sound makes headphones a requirement, allowing one to effectively ignore fellow viewers and to home in on the various ‘democracies’ in action.

Art’s potential to effect political change by making a radical critique of the status quo has become a popular topic of discussion for artists of late. Zmijewski is one who likely considers discussion alone a waste of time, since the central tenet of his work is that art must act, not simply ask questions. Whether you believe that art can or should harbour such ambitions is here irrelevant, however, because the work’s primary ‘political power’ is the emotion it elicits from the unwitting viewer.

In contrast to some other works, where the artist has engineered confrontations between people of radically opposing belief systems, Democracies mines or frames what is already occurring and lets it speak for itself. The encounter staged is one between the work and the audience, and – though we are wise to the guile of editing – this single work wields power through the apparent straightforwardness of its setup.