A col­lec­tive dedicated to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China, Slavs and Tatars often col­lide those things we con­sider opposites, or incom­patible, be it Islam and Com­munism, metaphysics and humor, or pop cul­ture and geo­politics. Raster Gal­lery is proud to present Too Much Tłumacz: Slavs and Tatars’ first solo show in Warsaw, on the per­for­mative use of lan­guage at the heart of the collective’s prac­tice. Throughout their mul­tiplat­form work, the col­lec­tive have turned in ear­nest to lan­guage as a tool for disrup­tion, humor, and unexpec­ted meaning. Each Slavs and Tatars project takes on the form of a publication that accom­panies the artists’ instal­lations and series of objects, many of which make use of cer­tain tech­niques of traditional craft­sman­ship and artistic practice.

Presen­ted in paral­lel to Beyon­sense, their solo exhibition cur­ren­tly at the MoMA in NY, Too Much Tłumacz celebrates lan­guage in all its polyphonic glory, with original works in Polish, Per­sian, Rus­sian, French and English. While texts feature prominen­tly throughout the work, they work on several registers beyond the conven­tions of post-​conceptualism, whether the analytical or affec­tive, emotional or intel­lec­tual. “Khhhhhhh” high­lights the often over­looked oral dimen­sion to reading and the sacred role of lan­guage vis-à-vis its often profane everyday use. History is re-​read through the unlikely common heritage between Poland and Iran in “Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi’ite Showbiz”. Reading takes on an intimate, experien­tial and spatial dimen­sion with river-​beds, flying car­pets, and the like. Instal­lations and sculp­tures invite visitors to sit, lie down, and read. Slavs and Tatars redeem the spirit of sharing and exchange that is part and parcel of their origins as a reading group: the act of reading together. Too Much Tłumacz is accom­panied by a presen­tation of the collective’s publications and early print work in the Raster book shop.