{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-js","path":"/bogna-burska-and-daniel-kotowski-on-representing-poland-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/","result":{"data":{"wordpressPost":{"id":117860,"slug":"bogna-burska-and-daniel-kotowski-on-representing-poland-at-the-61st-venice-biennale","title":"Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski on Representing Poland at the 61st Venice Biennale","excerpt":"“I wonder who the Venice Biennale is really for.”","content":"\n<p><strong>“I wonder who the Venice Biennale is really for.”</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>ArtReview</em>&nbsp;sent a&nbsp;<a href=\"https://artreview.com/category/venice-questionnaire/\">questionnaire</a>&nbsp;to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2026 Venice Biennale, the responses to which will be published daily in the leadup to and during the Venice Biennale, which runs from 9 May through 22 November.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski are representing Poland; the pavilion is in the Giardini.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Celebrating Visions. Versace partners with</em> ArtReview<em> to share stories from the 2026 Venice Biennale.</em></p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-1230x692.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117873\" srcset=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-1230x692.jpg 1230w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-600x338.jpg 600w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-300x169.jpg 300w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-768x432.jpg 768w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" /><figcaption>Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski. Photo: Magda Mosiewicz. Courtesy the artists</figcaption></figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ArtReview </strong><em>Tell ArtReview what you plan to exhibit in Venice. What has influenced or inspired you?</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bogna Burska</strong> We were inspired by a few ideas that we wove into a single project – work with the Choir in Motion, a phonic/sign-language ensemble made up of hearing and Deaf people; reversing the roles and statuses of the hearing and Deaf when we find ourselves underwater; and researching the remarkably complex communication of whales (more accurately: cetaceans), which evolved in the water. We were also drawn to the stories of loss and reconstruction that naturally emerged from these themes – both human and non-human languages, cultures and societies.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Daniel Kotowski</strong> I would add one other idea: alternate forms of communication. In our work we do not focus strictly on phonic language, we show diverse ways of communicating, both among people and with our surroundings or other creatures.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>In what ways (if at all) does your work relate to the theme of the Biennale exhibition, In Minor Keys?</em><strong></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>Our project is about voices and their retrieval. About voices of whale species being reborn, about voices you can see, that is, visual/spatial languages and their emancipation, about retrieving lost and vital parts of reality. I think these are not far from the main theme of this year’s Biennale.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> The project is based on the concept of ‘<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt9qh3m7\" target=\"_blank\">Deaf Gain</a>’. It treats deafness not as a loss or a disability, but as an identity and a culture that provides a new look at the world and its various capabilities. Deaf Gain shows how Deaf people contribute something of value to the world’s diversity.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>Why is the Venice Biennale still important, if at all?</em><strong></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>I think that it really depends on the perspective we take. The Venice Biennale is a great, vital and highly visible arts event. As such, on the one hand it helps us give a story power and visibility. On the other, the danger is it becomes divorced from everyday reality, from more local, vulnerable and superficially mundane themes. To my mind, who we are and what is vital to us is defined by our often unspectacular everyday reality. It is hard to shout about what is quiet. This is, perhaps, particularly visible with a theme like <em>In Minor Keys</em>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> I wonder who the Venice Biennale is really for. It is a prestigious event, it makes room for a variety of stories, but sometimes it is far from everyday experience. That is why it is worth asking if the Biennale space is open to all, with various proficiencies and various forms of communication.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>What role does a national pavilion play at a time of increasing confrontational nationalisms? Is it about expressing difference or commonality?</em><strong></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>I think the national pavilions is just a tradition. In those frameworks we often find stories very much in conflict with the national canon in question. Of course, it depends on the political moment in a country. This year, the Polish pavilion will be like a song sung in all the oceans, universal sign languages past and present, and stories from the Arctic. I’d be glad if that became our Polish tradition 🙂</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK </strong>As a Deaf person, I notice that phonic language rules the Biennale, and English in particular. Yet we have the chance to speak of our perspective in international sign language, not Polish sign language. English is always attached to a linguistic hierarchy, while IS (International Sign) is not.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-1230x651.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117870\" srcset=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-1230x651.jpg 1230w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-600x318.jpg 600w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-300x159.jpg 300w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-768x407.jpg 768w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12-1536x813.jpg 1536w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A001C031_260208ZN-Sequence-01.00_00_30_12.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-1230x651.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117871\" srcset=\"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-1230x651.jpg 1230w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-600x318.jpg 600w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-300x159.jpg 300w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-768x407.jpg 768w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15-1536x813.jpg 1536w, https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/B_0003C226X260215_210442LQ_CANON-Sequence-02.00_02_09_15.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1230px) 100vw, 1230px\" /><figcaption>Bogna Burska, Daniel Kotowski, <em>Liquid Tongues</em> (stills), 2026, video. courtesy Zachęta – National Gallery of Art, Poland</figcaption></figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>Who, for you, is the most important artist (in any discipline) that your country has produced?</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>I’ve never thought about that, I don’t think I can name any one person.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> As a teenager I looked for a person whose work would reflect the identity of my deafness in Polish mainstream art. I found a picture of a deaf painter from the nineteenth century, <a href=\"https://cyfrowe.mnw.art.pl/en/catalog/445665\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Feliks Pęczarski</a>, at the National Museum in Warsaw. I was so moved!&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>What is something you want people to know about your nation that they might not know already?</em><strong></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>That’s another question I don’t know how to answer. It’s hard for me to think about national identities in a coherent way. Right off the bat, only stereotypes come to mind 😀</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> I don’t know. I think it’s best to experience it in the flesh.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>Given that you are exhibiting in a national pavilion, is there something (a quality or an issue or attitude) that distinguishes the art of that nation from that of others? That makes it particular? Are there specific contexts that it responds to? Or do you think that art is a universal language that goes beyond social, political or geographic boundaries?</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>Our project is about communication and – on one level – about languages, including those in a specific context, time or a universal space. I think that art is a means of communication that has that kind of potential – in time and place. The opposition between the local and the universal strikes me as a bit overstated – they simply have to exist in parallel, each of them lets us experience reality in a different way. The country I live in strikes me as both more homogeneous and more polarized or incohesive. I get a bit lost in it all.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK </strong>Art is not a universal language. Every work is created in a specific context and from a concrete experience. Each narrative is important, but it all depends on someone who can carefully look and listen.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>What, other than art, are you looking forward to seeing – or doing – while you are in Venice?</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>I’m glad I’ll be meeting with friends who are coming to the opening. And that my child will be there. I also really like the scent of flowers in the air before you dock in Giardini.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> The opening of the exhibition, where I’ll be able to use sign language.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR </strong><em>Could you give us a brief overview of your average working day while creating your presentation for Venice?</em><strong></strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>Oh, that was a really demanding time. Our project is highly complex and takes a lot of attention and focus, and there really was so little time. I could actually say we haven’t stopped working since the competition was announced.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> There’s no short-form answer. We’ve been working with many groups all at once: the art/curator team; the Zachęta production team; the Choir in Motion (a thirty-person ensemble of hearing and Deaf people); the film production team; the architect of the exhibition; the designer of the visual identity; who else? Loads of people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AR</strong> <em>Can art really change the world?</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BB </strong>I generally think it can’t. But sometimes I hope that something can be changed for a second. The humpbacks’ songs saved them from being killed off by humans. Even though we haven’t the slightest idea what those songs really mean to them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DK</strong> Art has a structure based on social norms, which means that not everyone has a voice in it. Usually, the narrative belongs to privileged people. Yet when this structure ‘melts’, people from the margins can have a chance to take the floor in the space of art, and their visibility and significance grows. It then depends on the people if their voices are heard.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The&nbsp;</em><a href=\"https://artreview.com/category/venice-biennale-2026/\"><em>61st Venice Biennale</em></a><em>&nbsp;runs 9 May through 22 November 2026</em></p>\n","path":"/bogna-burska-and-daniel-kotowski-on-representing-poland-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/","format":"standard","date":"28 April 2026","rawDate":"2026-04-28T06:12:01.000Z","branch":{"name":"artreview.com"},"author":{"name":"ArtReview","path":"/author/artreview/"},"category":{"name":"Venice Biennale: Artist Q&As","path":"/category/venice-questionnaire/"},"featured_media":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10.jpg","caption":"","alt_text":"","media_details":{"width":2000,"height":1125,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-300x169.jpg","width":300,"height":169},"medium":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-600x338.jpg","width":600,"height":338},"large":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-1230x692.jpg","width":1230,"height":692},"wordpress_1536x1536":{"source_url":"https://backend.artreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/10-1536x864.jpg","width":1536,"height":864},"wordpress_2048x2048":null}}},"acf":{"article_artist":null,"article_video":null,"article_audio":null,"article_collaboration":"","article_custom_html_snippet":"","article_featured_title":"","article_featured_description":"","article_highlight":false,"article_custom_link_url":"","hero_image":null,"seo_title":"Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski on Representing Poland at the 61st Venice Biennale","seo_description":"ArtReview sent a questionnaire to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2026 Venice Biennale. Bogna Burska and Daniel Kotowski are representing Poland; the pavilion is in the Giardini.","article_related_articles":[{"id":118266,"title":"Jenna Sutela on Representing Finland at the 61st Venice Biennale","path":"/jenna-sutela-on-representing-finland-at-the-61st-venice-biennale/","author":{"name":"ArtReview","path":"/author/artreview/"},"category":{"name":"Venice Biennale: Artist 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