WAITING ROOM, KONRAD SMOLEŃSKI
Friday 27th & Saturday 28th June 2025
Palazzo Contarini Polignac
Dorsoduro 874, 30123 Venice
Waiting Room is a video installation presented as a performative screening on a drifting boat in the Venetian lagoon in collaboration with Hamed Ahmadi.
'The starting point for the story about missing Kurdish migrants were the photographs of Kurdish artist Shamal Husamalddin Hassan, who has been documenting the families of those who disappeared on their way to Europe — seeking a better, imagined life — for the past four years. Shamal comes from the city of Rania in Iraqi Kurdistan, a region from which an increasing number of young people emigrate every year.'
Created as part of an exhibition in Warsaw under the same title, curated by Jagna Lewandowska it comprised three interwoven parts: Shamal’s photographic series, an installation composed of mobile phones containing fragments of the missing persons' stories — images, text messages, and media excerpts, and finally, the video work by Smoleński.
'The film was created during the work on the exhibition, during a two-week visit to Kurdistan. I travelled to towns from which the most people had attempted to reach Europe — and, tragically, from which the most people had disappeared. Unlike Shamal’s documentary-style photographs, my film takes a more poetic and ephemeral approach. Rather than recount the tragedies directly, it aims to evoke the atmosphere, emotions, and broader context of the migration experience.
Initially, I intended to create a sound installation interwoven with video fragments, but over time, the visual aspect took precedence. Still, the soundscape accompanying the footage remains just as important to me as the imagery itself. The video also includes excerpts from interviews with the families of the missing, as well as snippets of text messages exchanged with migrants during their journey.
In Venice, we would like to refer to a different context — that of maritime migration routes. Many disappearances occur at sea, and this I also addressed in the film. I believe that viewing this dreamlike, atmospheric piece from within a boat drifting on open water could create a more intimate and powerful connection between the viewer and the story.'
Konrad Smoleński developed this work in collaboration with the Kraina Foundation, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and the Kurdistan Center for Arts and Culture.
Konrad Smoleński is a visual and sound artist, performer, and curator. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, he co-founded groups such as Penerstwo, Kot, and BNNT. He is known for his radical sound installations and instruments constructed from unconventional materials. In 2013, he represented Poland at the Venice Biennale. Since 2022, he has been running the mobile Vanish Gallery and the Kraina Foundation. He currently lives in Warsaw.
This project is co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Culture Promotion Fund.
Cultural event of the Polish presidency of the Council of the EU.
