hand stencil, acrylic, serigraph on canvas 70 x 50 cm, signed on the reverse '. Paczkowski | 1987 / 2012 | e. 25/25'
"(...) In 1987, less than 16-year-old activist of the "Freedom and Peace" Movement from Grudziądz, Dariusz Paczkowski in response to the ubiquitous images of the communist leader created their satirical version. The depiction of Vladimir Lenin with a red Iroquois turned the leader of the October Revolution into a representative of punk subculture. The author accompanied it with a quote from Lenin himself: "When the youth stop being revolutionary, it bodes badly for both the youth and the revolution." He wanted to provoke laughter in the viewer, to relieve the tension resulting from functioning under a hated system. He started with leaflets, which he distributed to graffiti artists he knew as an exchange of ideas. Soon this motif was to become one of the most iconic representations in the history of Polish street art. The stencil quickly began to be recognized throughout the country. It appeared on the streets, leather jackets, pins or patches. The band Big Cyc used it as its logo. By the end of the 1980s, punk Lenin was almost everywhere. It also penetrated the western border, where it gained popularity among leftist circles there. In 2004, world-famous street artist Banksy created an image of Lenin with a similar punk hairstyle. It is not known whether he was inspired by the Polish prototype. (...)" - the quote comes from Magdalena Staręga's article "Lenin with an Iroquois" (https://historiaposzukaj.pl/wiedza,obiekty,1713,obiekt_graffiti_ruchow_mlodziezowych_w_ecs_w_gdansku.html)
Dariusz Paczkowski (born 1971 in Grudziądz) - Polish social activist, founder and former collaborator of many NGOs, graffiti artist, performer, animator of cultural life, coordinator of nationwide actions for democracy and human rights, LGBT and ecology, as well as animal rights and against child vaccination. Currently co-president of the Klamra Foundation, former activist of organizations: Animal Liberation Front, Third Wave Group, Other Space Foundation, ARKA Ecological Foundation and Gaia Club. He has been creating socially engaged graffiti and street art for over 26 years, and is a co-creator of artistic and happening events. He creates installations, reliefs in stone and cuts out stencils. Founder of the nationwide group 3fala.art.pl, among others. Organizer and participant in many national and international graffiti jams and exhibitions. He conducts workshops in Poland and abroad. He is the artistic director of the Tibetan Gallery in Warsaw.
