During the political transition of the early 1990s, small kiosks bearing the words Niezależna prasa appeared across Kraków. Some say they emerged overnight in unexpected places – down Grodzka’s side streets, in Kazimierz courtyards, under the Vistula’s stone bridges. Others insist they had been there far longer, simply waiting for the right moment to be noticed. Their walls were made of layers of baked dough, bound with sugar glaze or syrup – sturdy enough to hold their shape yet fragile to the touch. Some kiosks had roofs dusted with cocoa or colourful sprinkles, while others carried the scent of spices, as if infused with cinnamon or vanilla. Newspapers, printed on thin sheets of rice paper with vegetable-based ink, were free to be taken, read, and then eaten – the ink dissolving on the tongues of readers, becoming part of their bodies. Readers carried words from the kiosks into the city – onto trams, into stairwells and market stalls – where fragments resurfaced in conversation, combining to form new sentiments and ideas. The kiosks seemed to remain only as long as they were needed; once their messages had spread and been absorbed, they disappeared, leaving only a slightly greasy spot where they had been. Today municipal authorities have no records of their existence. And most officials dismiss them as rumours, while others still, claim to have seen faint imprints where they once stood – sticky residue on pavement stones, a lingering scent of burnt sugar near the city walls. Even now, in certain corners of the Planty, you can see people pausing, as if catching a trace of something just beyond reach.
Monuments of a Fictional Past (Krakow edition) is a part of Three Seas Art Festival 2025 at Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art in Kraków(PL). Supported by Grosserer L.F. Foghts Fond and the Danish Arts Council. #contemporaryart #aiart #krakow #alternativehistory #exhibition @bunkiersztuki_artgallery #threeseasfestival #monumentsofafictionalpast #localfutures #flux.1 #thisisnothistory #frihedlighedoghiphop #tankhiphop
