Jerzy Kalina and Malgorzata Maliszewska with the large cross at Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Ingvar Andersson/DN

7 Young Poles

5.9 – 7.9 , 11.9 – 19.10 1975

Most of the artists were educated at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. For these artists, the action itself was the primary means of expression. Jerzy Kalina conducted his happening on the sidewalk outside Malmö Konsthall with a borrowed bed and an ambulance from the hospital. He crawled through a plastic bag marked with days of the week for over 10 metres. Completely exhausted, he was then placed in a hospital bed, which was rolled into Malmö Konsthall to create a makeshift hospital room. To enter the room, the audience had to put on white coats and thus became participants in the performance.

Jerzy Kalina and his wife Malgorzata Maliszewska carried out a ritual action on the theme of crucifixion. The audience, on both sides of a raised cross, was partially covered by a white sheet that had initially been on the floor. The cross was filled with soil, and Jerzy Kalina hung himself on the cross multiple times. The action concluded with Malgorzata performing a meticulous ceremonial floor washing.

Segment from a performance. A person has just crawled into a long plastic bag lying along the street. Spectators stand around. — Jerzy Kalina crawling through a 10-meter-long plastic bag at Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Laszlo Bogardy

Segment from a performance. A person lies on the street wrapped in threads and in a plastic bag. Next to them are three bottles and several glasses. The feet of onlookers are visible all around. — Jerzy Kalina. Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Laszlo Bogardy

Segment from a performance. A man tries to get out of a large plastic bag lying on the street. Next to him, a woman crouches, lightly holding two of four wine bottles lined up. — Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Laszlo Bogardy

Segment from a performance. In the foreground, there are large flower boxes filled with various types of flowers. Behind them, a group of people carries a hospital stretcher through the main entrance of Konsthallen. — The borrowed bed from the hospital being brought in through the main entrance at Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Laszlo Bogardy

Segment from a performance. On the street outside Konsthallen, there is an ambulance with an open rear door. Two people, dressed in white shirts, stand by the vehicle and assist a person on a stretcher. Behind them, a few spectators are visible. — Ambulance and stretcher from the hospital at Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Laszlo Bogardy

Segment from a performance. A woman helps a row of seated audience members hold up a protective cloth over their knees. — The audience covered by a white sheet at Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photo: Ingvar Andersson/DN

Segment from a performance. A woman in the foreground is kneeling on the floor and scrubbing. Behind her, a row of spectators is sitting, observing. The audience has a protective cloth over their legs. — Malgorzata Maliszewska finishes with a ritual washing of the floor. Malmö Konsthall, 1975. Photographer: Ingvar Andersson/DN