CHARGE 4’33”

The film Charge 4:33/ Szarża 4:33 premiered in 2017 during the exhibition Late Polishness at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. Filmed on the hills of the Pomeranian town of Przywidz and with over 30 extras taking part, this work features one of Poland’s popular national symbols, the hussar wings, which for this project were fashioned out of cardboard. Artists Jasper and Malinowska frequently reference Polish national symbols in their work, analyzing and deconstructing them in order to explore the stereotypes and clichés associated with Polish identity. Their work also examines the mystification surrounding Polishness, delving into the complex relationship between history and the present, as well as issues of colonial interactions, cultural invasions and appropriation. 

Traditionally constructed with raptor feathers, hussar wings were the distinguishing feature of an elite heavy cavalry formation meant to demoralize the enemy during a charge. For the film Charge 4:33/ Szarża 4:33, the artists removed the wings from their military context and placed them in a neutral, almost idyllic setting, using them as a metaphor for the innate connection between humanity and nature. This artistic choice challenges the romanticized notion of Poland as the “Christ of Nations” while also addressing contemporary cultural, social, and political issues. Another key factor in the viewer’s experience of the film is its distinctly Polish soundscape, replete with the sounds of insects and birds. The video’s duration—4 minutes and 33 seconds—is a nod to John Cage’s famous composition of the same length.