"Balladyna" (1943)

The premiere of Tadeusz Kantor’s “Balladyna”, based on the play by Juliusz Słowacki, was at Ewa Siedlecka’s flat at 21 Szewska Street, Krakow, on 22nd May, 1943. Fascinated at the time by the Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism, the artist took a modern approach to Słowacki’s symbolic drama. In his staging of “Balladyna”, the figure of Goplana, the Queen of the Lake, was represented as a silver and white object, serving as the focal point of the action. Made of plywood (or cardboard) wrapped in silver paper and equipped with a string, it produced vibrating moanful sounds. An actress invisible to the audience delivered Goplana’s part from the original drama. She spoke into a basin, which was supposed to give a metallic timbre to her voice. The collage presents the shape of the Goplana object and two Constructivist Elves (semi-circles).