The solo project titled “…and Europe will be stunned” by Israeli Dutch artist Yael Bartana premiered at the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven on March 24, 2012. This exhibition features a video trilogy centering on the Jewish Renaissance Movement in Poland (JRMiP), advocating for the return of 3.3 million Jews to Poland. The trilogy, originally showcased at the Polish national pavilion during the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011, includes three films: “Mary Koszmary” (2007, part of the Van Abbemuseum collection), “Mur I wieża” (2009, part of the Van Abbemuseum collection), and “Zamach” (2011). The last video has been donated by Outset to both the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and the Van Abbemuseum. Accompanying the films is a specially produced archive display that delves into historical and aesthetic references found in the films. Manifestos of the JRMiP are available for take-away, encouraging visitors to join the movement.
“…and Europe will be stunned” marked Yael Bartana as the first non-Polish artist representing Poland at the Venice Biennale. The video trilogy explores the ideologies and actions of the JRMiP, a political group advocating for Jews’ return to their ancestral land. The narrative weaves together references and stances from socialist Zionism, European anti-Semitism, and Israel’s historical and present settlement efforts. Bartana’s trilogy uses conflicting historical perspectives to inspire a vision of a different future.
The first film, “Mary Koszmary” (Nightmare), initiates the series, featuring Slawomir Sierakowski, JRMiP’s leader, urging Jews to return to Poland. The film, presented in the style of a propaganda film, addresses contemporary anti-Semitism, xenophobia in Poland, the Polish intelligentsia’s yearning for their Jewish history, and the Zionist aspiration of returning to Israel.
The second film, “Mur i wieża” (Wall and Tower), unfolds on the former site of the Warsaw ghetto. It depicts JRMiP members arriving in Warsaw to establish a kibbutz integrated and isolated from the local community. Through heightened realism and an emotive soundtrack, the film portrays the conflicts of settlement movements in the past, present, or a potential future.
In the trilogy’s final film, “Zamach” (Assassination), Bartana subjects the dream of a multinational community to an ultimate test. The film portrays the funeral ceremony of Sierakowski, leaving viewers uncertain about the JRMiP’s status: Is it an illusion, an artistic project, or a tangible and constructive possibility for the future of Poland, Europe, and the Middle East?
