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Some journeys are different. They don’t begin at an airport or a train station. They have no plan or destination. They begin the moment the world we knew suddenly disappears — and we must learn to live in the void. In a state of weightlessness…
That’s exactly what “NO GRAVITY” is about — an extraordinary video triptych and multisensory exhibition directed by Piotr Janowczyk, which premiered on October 30 at the Free Belarus Museum in Warsaw.
Amid the sounds of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, in a delicate half-light where shadow and illumination intertwine like memory and hope, the audience became part of a story about those who have lost the ground beneath their feet — both literally and metaphorically.
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Among the dancers of the Polish National Ballet, every movement carries meaning. Every gesture tells of an attempt to keep balance, of seeking hope in a world that has suddenly ceased to feel safe.
A leap into the air becomes a metaphor for escape — but also for faith: the belief that one can still rise, even when the ground falls away.
In the headphones, voices are heard — real, quiet, deeply moving.
Artists who were forced to leave their countries speak of their journeys: of what they left behind, and what they managed to find in Poland.
Their words sound like prayers, like echoes of old songs, like the breath of a world still searching for its place.
Today, more than 120 million people around the world have been forced to leave their homes.
But here, it is the human being who matters — their body, breath, movement, and voice.
In the gentle light of the projector, that’s enough to feel that every story of exile is, in truth, a story of us all.
“NO GRAVITY” requires no commentary.
In this space, I personally saw my grandmother — in a cold cattle wagon during the war, holding my infant mother in her arms, fleeing from danger.
And I felt that each of us carries a similar story within — one of courage, fear, care for loved ones, and hope that, at the end of the road, a new life awaits.
“NO GRAVITY” is a space of silence, reflection, and human encounter.
It’s enough to enter, sit down, listen to Górecki’s music and to the artists’ stories — to let art lift us beyond the weight of daily life and remind us that empathy is the greatest measure of humanity.
Exhibition runs until November 12, 2025
Free Belarus Museum, 11 Foksal Street, Warsaw
Tuesday–Friday: 16:00–20:00
Saturday–Sunday: 12:00–20:00
Director and Creative Concept: Piotr JANOWCZYK
Choreography: Joanna DRABIK
Music: Henryk Mikołaj GÓRECKI
Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” Op. 36 (1976)
II. Lento e largo, Tranquillissimo
Director of Photography: Mateusz SZELC
Production: Perform Art Foundation
Executive Producer: Mateusz Szelc / One Light Studio
Editing and Postproduction: One Light Studio
Coordination: Agnieszka Brzezińska
Dancers:
Yana SHTANHGEI, Patryk WALCZAK, Nikodem BIALIK, Paweł DOBRZYŃSKI,
Kasper GÓRCZAK, Oliwia GÓRECKA, Paulina MAGIER, Daria MAJEWSKA
Lighting: Oskar Nawotka (Studio ŚWIT)
Production Support: Julia Warakomska
Storyboard: Alicja Janowczyk
Video Backstage: Jakub Trociński
Photo Backstage: Zuzanna Orzechowska
Studio Assistants: Krystian Onisk, Jakub Trociński
Lighting Rental: CAMCAM Rental
Ballet Floors: Teatr STUDIO
Costumes: Contemporary Uniforms Rental / Krystian Onisk
Mov_BODY Lab / Dance Registration Laboratory
Music
Henryk Mikołaj GÓRECKI — Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” Op. 36 (1976)
II. Lento e largo, Tranquillissimo
Poznań Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Andrzej Boreyko
Soprano: Ewa Iżykowska
Recorded on February 4, 1995
Publisher: DUX
Filming took place at Studio Świt, Warsaw
Technical Support: SONY POLAND
Project co-funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage within the Institute of Creative Industries’ “Development of Creative Sectors” program.
Original article: magazynswiat.pl
