Focus on relations that take place among men is one of the common themes that join Ritszel’s tree films: Eine Kleine Werke, Silent Night and My Man. 

These relations carry heavy cultural implications, and Ritszel turns his gaze to the social roles of masculinity. Among other places, he takes his camera to the prison, stereotypically associated with hyper-masculinity that has escaped the social order. A man is not supposed to show tenderness, and especially not toward another man. That is why men’s mutual relations are full of tension and unspoken distance, with aggression not too far off. This is often an outcome of the fear of the accusation of being gay, which still carries social stigma. Even though they are shown in the context of a group, and in relation to the Other, the protagonists of Dominik Ritszel’s films are isolated and lonely. Their moving attempts to find a common language with the Other and to break the isolation are clothed in clumsy gestures and desperate nonverbal announcements, destined to fail from the outset.

 

Works with video and film. Interested in all forms of depiction, creation of narratives, etc., in these areas. A fifth-year student of graphic arts at the Fine Arts Academy in Katowice and participant in the Curators Network project. His most important exhibitions were See You All (2012) and Mleczne zęby [Baby Teeth] (2013).

 

Curator: Dorota Buczkowska

Galeria Szara Kamienica, Rynek Główny 6