​Krzysztof Wodiczko

Krzysztof Wodiczko (b. 1943, Warsaw, Poland) lives in New York and Cambridge, USA. Wodiczko is known for large-scale public projections, and interactive instruments and vehicles created in order to empower marginalised individuals and communities, and give light to societal injustices. He has executed over 80 site-specific projections on public buildings and monuments in 40 cities worldwide. 

For Wodiczko , a flashback means traumatic re-emergence of memories from the past, characterised by psychological conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His presentation of works at FACT for Liverpool Biennial 2016 brings together exhibits from over 40 years spent working in collaboration with marginalised communities such as war veterans and the homeless. Wodiczko’s large-scale installation Guests (2009) originally commissioned for the 53rd Venice Biennale, forms a central part of the exhibition, reflecting in this context on the current migratory crisis and debates around immigration. Veteran Helmet was created in 2015, and uses technology and prosthetics to aid veterans suffering from PTSD to share their experience of the condition. Other works include the Homeless Vehicle Project (1988–89), for which Wodiczko worked with members of the homeless community in New York to create tools to aid their survival and communication.

He has presented solo exhibitions at venues such as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA (2009); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C, USA (1988); Fundacio Antoni Tapies, Barcelona, Spain (1992); De Appel Foundation, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1995); and Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland (2005). He has participated in Documenta VI and Documenta VIII and has been featured in numerous biennial exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (1986, 2000, 2009), Whitney Biennial (2000), Kyoto Biennial (2003), Biennale de Lyon (1993), and Sydney Biennale (1979, 1982). His most recent work is featured at Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz, Poland (2015). 

Krzysztof Wodiczko at Liverpool Biennial 2016

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Alien Staff, 1993
Wood, rubber, plastic, speaker, videocassette recorder and video monitor

Guests, 2009
Projection installation, 17 min

Vehicle-Podium and other early vehicles, 1972
Personal Instrument, 1969
Homeless Vehicle Project, 1987-89
Poliscar, 1991
The Mouthpiece, 1994-97
Ægis Project, 1998
Dis-Armor Project, 1999-2000
War Veteran Helmet, 2015
Arc de Triomphe: The World Institute for the Abolition of War, 2010
The Tijuana Projection, 2001
Abraham Lincoln: War Veteran Projection, 2012
War Veteran Vehicle, 2009
Kunstpodium Projection Basel, 2009

Drawings: Vehicle-Café (i), 1977-79, Vehicle-Café (ii), 1977-79, Vehicle-Café (ii), 1977-79, Vehicle-Platform (ii), 1977-79, Vehicle, 1977-79, Vehicle Podium, 1977-79, Vehicle 1, (i), 1973, Vehicle 1, (ii), 1973, Vehicle 1, (iii), 1973, Vehicle 1, (v), 1973, Vehicle 1, (v), 1973, Vehicle 1, (vi), 1973, Vehicle 1, (vii), 1973 
Paper, ink; drawings 

Vehicle 1, 1973
Set of six photographs

Vehicle 1, 1973
Set of twelve photographs

Video-Documents: Tijuana, Projection Tijuana, Mexico, 2001, Video, 36 min, Lincoln, Projection, New York, US, 2012, Video, 15 min, Re-activation of vehicle 1, 1971-1973, Łódź, Poland, 2015, Video, 2 min, War Veteran Helmet, Łódź, Poland, 2015, Video 6 min, War Veteran Helmet Vehicle, Liverpool, UK, 2009, Video, 9 min, Alien Staff, Paris, Helsinki, Stockholm, New York, 1992, Video, 27 min, Ægis, New York, US, 1998, Video, 17 min, Dis-Armour, Hiroshima, Japan, 2000, Video, 8 min, Kunstmuseum, Basel Projection, Basel, Switzerland, 2006, Video, 10 min

All exhibited at FACT