Concept: Marta Miś, Mariusz Wilczyński, Agnieszka Ścibior
Authors: Maciek Bielawski, Dorota Masłowska, Jakub Żulczyk
Publisher: Zachęta — Narodowa Galeria Sztuki, Narodowe Centrum Kultury
Published: 2022
ISBN: 9788366979048
Pages: 128
Language: English

"The book now in your hands was published, in cooperation with National Centre for Film Culture, on the occasion of Mariusz Wilczyńskiʼs exhibition entitled Kill It… at the Zachęta – National Gallery of Art in Warsaw. It is, however, neither a catalogue of the exhibition nor a critical study of the film – a great deal has been written about the film itself over the past two years, in Poland and abroad. Due to its formal complexity and spatiotemporal structure, Kill It and Leave This Town allows viewers to follow different paths, to opt to focus more on the visuals, music, characters, dialogue, places, voices, fantasies or realities. Three Polish writers have engaged with this inspirational power of the picture – they were completely free to choose their subject and literary form, to interpret the film or enter into a dialogue with it. And so, Dorota Masłowska in her essay Drawn From Under the Skin draws attention to the corporeality of Wilczyński’s animation. Jakub Żulczyk in Some Thoughts About the Blues follows the lead of music as an important inspiration for the filmmaker and emphasises its significance as an element of the film’s structure. In his short story The Best Friend, Maciek Bielawski evokes his own past, reflecting in a literary form the fluidity of memories through time and space.

However, the crucial part of this artistic book, designed by Anna and Magdalena Piwowar, consists of images and scenes from the world created by Mariusz Wilczyński, depicted with his characteristic strokes and unforgettable lighting. We gain an opportunity to take a closer look at the characters populating his memories and imagination. And above all, we get a chance to return to the film Kill It and Leave This Town at any time – in a completely different medium.” [from introduction by Marta Miś]