Manifestation description:

The basement of the Krzysztofory Gallery. In the middle of the gallery there is a long strip of white fabric with the inscription “Altar of Fulfillment” written across it. On the fabric stands a wooden object. On four, rather tall legs, two halves of a split block are fixed in such a way that the flat surfaces form the top of a table. Underneath, between the legs of the table, a round tin gong hangs. On the opposite sides of the tabletop are set two ruddy, outward-sloping thick pegs. They are connected by a long horizontal strip, to the ends of which solid, vertical, arched rods are attached. Against the wall stands a simply pieced table. In front of it lies a strip of fabric with the inscription ARTIST’S ARCHIVE. Paints, an axe are put on the table. In another place there is a table with a bottle of wine and glasses. On the floor stands a trunk of wood, next to it blocks of wood covered with white fabric. Action. The artist enters the room naked, around his neck hangs a thick bundle of large charts made of gray fabric. The fabrics are stretched on slats, reaching almost to the floor. The charts are inscribed with the titles of manifestations carried out over the past ten years; they also include the dates, places and graphic signs associated with the character and course of the manifestations. The artist walks up to the artist’s altar and explains in a few words the anniversary nature of the manifestation. He then dips the brush in green paint and signs the first chart with the inscription PROPHECY I on it. He removes the chart from his neck and a gallery employee hangs it on the wall. Signing and hanging of the successive charts follows: PROPHECY II, BLACK-PAINTED BREAD, COLOR-PAINTED BREAD, TRANSFIGURATION I, TRANSFIGURATION II, AUTHOR’S ALTAR, AUCTION, FACE ALTAR, MEMENTO, EROTIC ALTAR, ROUND OF HONOR, WOODEN ROAD, ART FOCUS, SINCERITY RITUAL, EXISTENTIAL RITUAL, CULTURAL RITUAL, LIFE’S WORK, ARTIST’S MASS, ARTIST’S MONUMENT. When the last chart-document is signed and hung on the wall the artist is completely naked. He takes a brush and puts his signature on his own body. With an axe in hand, he then walks over to the trunk and covers himself with the fabric with which the blocks of wood were covered. The fabric forms a short tunic, the back bears the inscription OFIARA/ SACRIFICE. The artist chops blocks of wood on the tree trunk and moves the chips to the ALTAR OF FULFILLMENT. He makes a small pile out of them and sets fire to it. The fire gets higher and higher, and begins to burn through the horizontal slat running over the tabletop. The artist is separated from the audience by the increasingly higher flame. After a long moment of waiting, the slat burns through, two crooked logs fixed at its ends suddenly fall down and from two sides simultaneously strike the metal gong hanging under the table. A loud sound echoes in the environment of silence. The artist now walks over to the table with wine, pours it into glasses and simultaneously paints red flowers on his robe. After spilling the wine, he covers the glasses with a concertinaed cloth bearing the inscription DECORATION. He returns to the “Altar of Fulfillment” and extinguishes the fire. He tilts the hanging logs slightly upward and ties the burnt board with a string in such a way that when the structure gets moved the sound of a gong gets triggered. He takes off his robe, hangs it on this string and walks naked out of the gallery.

„Katalog twórczości Jerzego Beresia, 1954-1994 – część II: Manifestacje”, opr, Jerzy Hanusek [w:] Jerzy Bereś. Zwidy, wyrocznie, ołtarze, wyzwania, red. Aleksandra Węcka (Poznań: Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu, 1995), s. 122