The juvenile drawing by one of the most prominent living Polish sculptors, Krzysztof M. Bednarski (b. 1952), is a very rare document in Polish art, related in subject and date to the events of March '68. The work is one of the earliest known juvenile drawings by the future sculptor, as it was created before he began his professional artistic education. Demonstrating the young artist's great artistic talent, the drawing, though small in size, is characterised by great power of expression. Bednarski suggestively associates an existential situation (an observed event involving a dog hit by a car) with the awareness of a historical moment, juxtaposing in a dramatic metaphor a silhouette of an animal with a symbol of the nation permanently marked by the fate of exile. The author himself speaks about the circumstances in which the drawing was found and created: "Years ago, after my mother's death, while tidying up her things, I discovered a folder with drawings in the wardrobe under the bedclothes. She hid them from me because I destroyed everything I made. These were drawings from the years 1967-1972. I attended the K. Gottwald Primary School (now S. Staszic). In 1968, I was still in the last class. Most of my classmates were of Jewish origin, among them Lutka Ryba (from Kantor); they were mainly children of military men (the General Staff and the Israeli embassy were nearby). In 1968, my class emptied out: out of 39 pupils, at most a third remained... I remember that this drawing was very important for changing my consciousness, I had already read a lot of poetry, I was well versed in Polish art, I knew the paintings of Wróblewski, Cwenarski or Linke. I even have a photo of it [the dog???], taken by my friend Jacek (who always walked with Zorka on his chest because he wanted to be a photographer). I dragged this dog to the cellar and wanted to cast him in plaster. I put plaster on him, but I didn't give an insulating layer, so I couldn't open the mould. With difficulty, I dragged him to the dumpster. He stayed in that plaster sarcophagus. He tormented me in my dreams. He was thirsty and starved. I made many drawings that were almost the same, some on tracing paper. After the Jews were expelled from Poland, I drew a Star of David for my dog". | AT
