New Peredvizhniki, Or Artists On The Move

Abstract

Abstract In 2013 Honorata Martin, a young artist from Gdańsk travelled about six hundred kilometres on foot. No other work than the journey itself was created apart from the scrapbook with her notes and a short video. By putting herself in the precarious position of a nomad/migrant, the artist achieved multiple goals. One of them was to put an end to the alienation of work. The result is a work that is deprived of a “labour force,” and as such, it cannot be exploited. Martin adopted the strategy of a “passive subject” (as opposed to the “active subject” of Lazzarato). She followed the instructions, fitted the image that was being proposed to her by people she encountered, and this was exactly the move that triggered emancipatory power. Her perverse answer to the danger pointed out by Lazzarato was the creation of a subject without a soul who cannot be put to use in the economic structure based on immaterial labour. Her project “Setting off for Poland” contributes to decades-long discussions about the role and function of art institutions.