Grupa LUXUS, "Pokaz wyrobów cukierniczych o przedłużonym okresie trwałości". Photo: press materials
The infamous LUXUS group puts their decadent goodies back on display 20 years later
The first edition of the show took place almost 20 years ago at the opening of the Galeria Miejska in Wroclaw. The show marked the rise of a new era: times of unlimited freedom, joyous party and general prosperity. Lavishly endowed tables were loaded to their breaking point under the weight of fake cakes ans snacks. These goodies shone, spun around, played music - everything other than taste good like they were supposed to. Those visitors who dared to sample some of the enticing sweets were bitterly disappointed to find they were nothing but plaster and plastic.
Pawel Jarodzki, co-founder of LUXUS, recalls that after a few days, the exhibition began to give off an unpleasant smell:
Maybe that was because the chicken feet that were not lacquered precisely enough. However, that fact didn't stop the very same set from travelling throughout numerous Polish galleries, to eventually mark the celebrations of the Midsummer Night in the gardens of the Polish Embassy in Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately, on the day before the opening of the exhibition, the decision was made to divide this charming country into two smaller ones. That is why the comeback of the confectionery products to Poland reminded us more of an escape in panic.
The leftovers of the show laid forgotten on dusty factory shelves, until they were saved from oblivion by the curators of a recent exhibition in Bucharest.
Jarodzki explains:
At first, we thought it made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but after a few visits at some urban markets, we realised that today's society produces trash and garbage that is even more attractive than it was twenty years ago. Of course, as the saying goes "thy shall not bath in the same water twice" and the final effect is slightly different from its primary objective. However, some values never fade and people still want to consume without any limits, as satiation and madness keep on distracting us from what we officially refer to as the the meaning of life.
After successful exhibitions in Bucharest and Debrecen, the LUXUS group decided to bring their unusual and tasty project back to Wrocław with this latest show at the Entropia Gallery.
The exhibition runs between December 21 - January 14, 2011.
Source: press release
Galeria Entropia
ul. Rzeźnicza 4, 50-129 Wrocław
tel. (+48 71) 344 46 34