Patrycja Orzechowska

MOONSHINE
place, installation, exhibition

Moonshine is a high-proof, home-made alcoholic drink distilled illegally. Although trade in it is unlawful, for decades it has been a commonly accepted means of payment, and was thus used in illegal barter. Moonshine has connotations of clandestine activities undertaken by the light of the moon, underground, in secret places and out of bounds. In Polish, the word also means postcards with the motif of the moon on them.

Observing the practice of the ad hoc use of space and illegal production and trade, prevalent among the Nowy Port residents, the artist annexed defunct business premises in Na Zaspę Street, turning them into a temporary gallery-cum-bar. Inside, she placed apparatus that distils alcohol in front of the viewers’ eyes. The photo-wallpaper fills up the background space with a reproduction print from 1843, showing a 19^th -century lighthouse together with a 19^th-century etching from the artist’s collection, with seabirds flying blindly to the lighthouse attracted by its glare, as well as an installation made of thimbles. An ‘inn’-sign and a bright light, flickering like that of a lighthouse, attract both months and people, beckoning them to step inside. _{[narracje.eu]}