Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków, 2026

Sorry about the mess was a project combining a performance and an exhibition, addressing human existence on Earth, passivity in the face of the environmental crisis, and the phenomenon of culinary extinction – the disappearance of species as a result of overexploitation, including their consumption. The title refers to a phrase many of us have used when welcoming unexpected guests, but in this context it takes on a double meaning, becoming a comment on the consequences of the way we exist within our environment. I intertwine the histories of extinct species with the history of cuisine and the context of the Wawel Royal Castle.

The project began with a performance in the form of a feast, during which four performers enacted a scene of friends gathering around a shared table. The seemingly everyday conversation gradually revealed reflections on the environmental crisis and different ways of responding to situations of crisis: action, fear, denial, and inaction. The audience also participated in the event, invited to join the feast without knowing the script. The menu was composed of wild edible plants gathered in Kraków. The objects used during the feast – the table, tableware, vessels, and cutlery – subsequently became part of the exhibition, functioning as material traces of the performance. The central object is a table made using the technique of marquetry, featuring an ornamental pattern depicting edible wild plants growing in cities and wastelands. It is accompanied by objects referring to specific extinct species, including the aurochs, the passenger pigeon, and silphium. The cutlery was made from food scraps from my own table – everyday waste and traces of shared meals – which were subjected to electroplating and silver plating, becoming tools for further consumption despite having been made from what had already been consumed. By juxtaposing the situation of a shared feast with its material remains, I examine the relationship between memory, privilege, and responsibility.

Photographic documentation: Szymon Sokołowski, Adam Golec / Wawel Royal Castle. 

The project was realised with funding from the 3rd edition of the APH Grant Programme.