THE STADIUM
The 10th-Anniversary Stadium was opened in 1955 as a monument to the first decade of real socialism in Poland. The stadium was constructed mostly from the rubble that remained of Warsaw after WWII. Up until the 1980s it was among the most principal venues for mass gatherings in Poland. The major sporting events in the country, international football matches and athletics competitions were held there. It was also used for cultural propaganda: it saw organized concerts, ceremonies and anniversary celebrations. Then the less glorious history of the stadium began. As a result of lack of maintenance, it gradually fell into disrepair. Finally, between 1989 and 2008, the stadium was leased to business and received a new name: Jarmark Europa; with over 5,000 traders, and many more unregistered – a large number of them immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa or the Caucasus – the site transformed into the largest marketplace in Europe. At the same time the stadium became one of the greatest centers of crime in this part of the world. Among other things, illegal software, smuggled alcohol, cigarettes and weapons were sold there. It is said that one could get literally everything there. The place was very cluttered; Chinese plastic packaging products flew in the air, and on the ground rotting layers of cardboard cartons lay. The image was completed by mannequins, either broken or missing members, scattered among the brightly colored clothes and loud music played from multiple locations simultaneously. Finally, in September 2007, the crown of stadium was closed for traders. On the site place of 10th-Anniversary stadium authorities began to build a new national stadium for the 2012 Euro Cup. The concrete icon of real socialism, turned symbol of transition-time colourful kitsch and multi-ethnicity, gradually transformed into a Polish icon. This time Poland is gazing toward the west. History repeats itself. I started taking these pictures the day after the official closing of the crown Stadium on 30th September, 2007. The are a subjective record of the stadium’s transformation.
