“Passé recomposé” – an exhibition by Hubert Czerepok at the Polish Library in Paris

On 16 November 2025, the exhibition “Passé recomposé” by Hubert Czerepok, dedicated to the symbols shaping Polish national identity, will open in Paris. Combining historical research with artistic experimentation, the artist explores the role of symbols, the tradition of emigration, and the influence of Andrzej Towiański’s thought and Adam Mickiewicz’s work on Polish culture and identity. Drawings, photographs, neon signs, and VR installations creating a dialogue between past and present will be on display at the Polish Library in Paris until 23 December 2025.

Exhibition “Passé recomposé” – artistic analysis of symbolism and Polish identity in the French capital

The exhibition “Passé recomposé” is an artistic analysis of the symbolism that shapes Polish national identity. In his works, Hubert Czerepok explores the meaning of symbols and examines whether they are closely linked to the geopolitical context, historical events, and figures, or they can function as an energy to create a national community regardless of location. The artist also analyses how symbols of cultural traditions, rooted in emigration activities, became for Poles an important part of their national heritage, and traces the sources of concepts shaping Polish consciousness and the role of the nation in 19th-century and modern Europe.

Czerepok devotes special attention to the cultural tradition stemming from the Great Emigration in Paris and the phenomenon of Andrzej Towiański’s concepts and the activities of Adam Mickiewicz. The analysis shows how Towiański’s mystical and political ideas responded to the needs of the immigrants, creating a sense of community and belonging, as well as influencing the creators of Polish Romanticism. The exhibition also explores the issues of mythologisation of homogenous Polish culture and Mickiewicz’s ambiguous position, questioning unilateral, national interpretations and posing questions about contemporary, multi-cultural perspective of the national heritage.

Hubert Czerepok’s interdisciplinary artistic activities – drawing, neon signs, VR, and objects in dialogue with history

Artistic activities of Hubert Czerepok are distinguished by a precise research process – the artist uses source materials and collaborates with scientists, archaeologists, or engineers, but his goal is not so much to confirm facts as to activate the imagination. He uses an interdisciplinary language – from drawing and photography through neon and object to immersive installations using new technologies. He combines historical fact with fiction, science with intuition, and documentary with imagination to create works that open the viewer to the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual experience of history, oscillating around memory, myth, and history as dynamic processes that shape the present.

The works presented at the exhibition use a variety of media, and are complemented by artifacts on loan from the Polish Library in Paris related to the phenomenon of Andrzej Towiański’s philosophical thought. The juxtaposition of 19th-century iconography with modern media creates a dialogue between the present and the past, allowing viewers to find their way to the artists who shaped Polish national identity. Exhibits include the 360° film “Stars Above You and Stars Below You” (2024), the monumental “Multiple Portrait. Mickiewicz/Bonaparte” (2023) made using his own technique, the drawing installation “Podlinnik” (2024), the drawing “Arma Christi” (2021), the neon sign “Past Future” (2024) and the object-photography “Reliquary” (2024). In addition, the artist has prepared two drawings and one neon sign. The Paris exhibition corresponds with the space in which it is displayed – the Polish Library is one of the most important institutions promoting Polish culture abroad, whose rich 19th-century archival collections have been included in UNESCO Memory of the World list.

Exhibition “Passé recomposé” by Hubert Czerepok in Paris

• Dates: 16 November – 23 December 2025

• Venue: Polish Library in Paris (6, Quai d’Orléans, 75004 Paris, France)

• Curators: Sylwia Szymaniak and Agnieszka Wiatrzyk

• Exhibition partners: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, POLONIKA Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok, Biuro Wystaw – Polish Modern Art Foundation.

• More information: ibpp.eu