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WHEN LAUGHTER WAS OUR SHIELD

An exhibition for the 40th anniversary of introducing martial law in Poland 13th December 1981

7 – 31 December 2021
The W-Z Gallery in Warsaw

the exhibition

A presentation of drawings and cartoons published or prepared for print in Polish press before 13th December 1981, and – particularly after that date – as underground publications in samizdat, in foreign press, or created without hope for publication.

From the collections of: The Eryk Lipiński Museum Of Caricature, Maciej Łukasiewicz’s Family, Jerzy Brukwicki, and the artists.

the artists

Andrzej Adamowicz, Tomasz Bogusławski, Julian Bohdanowicz, Jan Bokiewicz, Stanisław Bukowski, Antoni Chodorowski, Andrzej Czeczot, Andrzej Dudziński (ps. Jan Kowalski), Jacek Fedorowicz, Jerzy Flisak, Jacek Frankowski, Wiesław Fuglewicz, Zygmunt Januszewski, Michał Jędrczak, Zbigniew Jujka, Janusz Kapusta, Szymon Kobyliński, Wojciech Kołyszko, Andrzej Krauze, Zbigniew Lengren, Edward Lutczyn, Monika Łobodzińska, Sławomir Łuczyński, Edmund Mańczak, Jerzy Medyński, Andrzej Mleczko, Piotr Młodożeniec, Waldemar Moszkowski, Sławomir Mrożek, Leszek Ołdak, Stefan Papp, Andrzej Piekarski, Maciej Pietrzyk, Szczepan Sadurski, Eugeniusz Skorwider, Jacek Staniszewski, Stanisław Szczuka, Zbigniew Ziomecki (ps. Andrzej Gall) and other unknown ones.

exhibition collaborators and contributors

Exhibition concept: Elżbieta Laskowska
Collaboration: Paulina Pilcicka
Consultant: Jerzy Brukwicki
Poster graphic design and typography: Tomasz Rupociński, Labografia
Board graphic design: Izabela Bartnik
Media relations: Michalina Musielik-Wypych
English translation: Tomasz Zymer


Jan Bokiewicz

Jan Bokiewicz
13 December, 1982

Michał Jędrczak

Michał Jędrczak
And the nation shall repay them with the same..., 1980/81

Eugeniusz Skorwider

Eugeniusz Skorwider
For good-willed people to live in peace, 1982

Andrzej Dudziński

Andrzej Dudziński (ps. Jan Kowalski)
Illustration for Adam Michnik's letter smuggled out of prison in Poland and published in 'The New York Times Op-Ed', 21.05.1985

Jacek Fedorowicz

Jacek Fedorowicz
Visitez Varsovie! (Visit Warsaw!), 1981

Jacek Staniszewski

Jacek Staniszewski
Merry Christmas, the 1980s

Dosiego roku solidarność

Author unknown
Happy New Year. Solidarity. From the series: Greetings from the underground, 1982/1983

Tomasz Bogusławski

Tomasz Bogusławski
Happy New Year, the 1980s

Piotr Młodożeniec

Piotr Młodożeniec
Solidarity 1984. Happy New Year, 1983

Szczepan Sadurski

Szczepan Sadurski
New Year's Carollers. Caricatures of: Wojciech Jaruzelski, Jerzy Urban, Lech Wałęsa, Jacek Kuroń, Bogdan Lis, 1982

Edmund Mańczak Mieczysław Rakowski

Edmund Mańczak
Caricature of Prime Minister Mieczysław Rakowski, 1984

Edmund Mańczak Jerzy Urban

Edmund Mańczak
Caricature of government spokesman Jerzy Urban, 1984

Edmund Mańczak Wojciech Jaruzelski

Edmund Mańczak
Caricature of general Wojciech Jaruzelski, 1984

Autor nieznany Wojciech Jaruzelski

Author unknown
"The Red Star above me, and the moral law within me" (Caricature of Wojciech Jaruzelski, the 1980s

Waldemar Moszkowski

Waldemar Moszkowski
– Dad, mum's asking which one's the good party: the government, or the "Solidarity" guys!

Julian Bohdanowicz

Julian Bohdanowicz
Conscience amplifier: Statute of the PZPR (Polish United Workers Party), 1981

Andrzej Adamowicz

Andrzej Adamowicz
Solidarity (TV Diary), 1981

Zygmunt Januszewski

Zygmunt Januszewski
Demonism (TV Diary), 1981