The spectacle of Tadeusz Wierzbicki is a unique, poetic theatre of light. Reflected by a series of flexible “living” mirrors causes a dynamic deformation of silhouettes; being created by light refraction and allows for metamorphic in nature – animation, while catching the beam of light in movement. Having been on an artistic trail since 1993, the spectacle has become a never ending process of creation, in which individual artistic episodes, constructions and settings, screens and poetic verses are subjected to unstoppable changes and deformations. Each episode has become a specific study on individual, original form.
The "i” Theatre is a unique dramatic "memoir”, in which Tadeusz Wierzbicki has been collecting since late seventies, various forms of light and shadow experimental reflections. The stream of light is processed and formed again using specifically designed set of mirrors. In result we receive a naïve resemblance to child-age game of catching sunbeams in a mirror.
The spectacle consists of a series of episodes.
Their choice and interpretation depends on one hand on a particular evolution of process of artistic inspiration, specific location and reaction of audience. The episodes are usually quite short as it results from the transitory, ephemeral nature of light; longer ones up to two minutes while shorter several seconds only.
The letter “i” – a synthetic symbol of a human being. It’s separation into a dot and a line has created opportunities for new and new rhymes and verses of a “material “ poetry; which makes the use of new and new phases of motion of a dot and a line. The little “i” from a page of paper moves onto a screen which features the drama of light and shadow, then jumps onto bigger in size tv screen and finally appears on natural screen-like surfaces: wall, stone, tree and human body;
however not through series of shadows but rather by reflected glimpses of light .
Tadeusz Wierzbicki writes poetry, fairy tales and screenplays, directs, and creates stage settings. He worked on animations, puppet theatres and tv programmes. He created new techniques of visual theatre: theatre of light reflected in formed mirrors, shadow theatre, electrostatic stained-glass windows, theatre of magnetic shadows and theatre of natural light.
In 1986 he graduated puppet theatre direction at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. In 1987 he settled in a deserted farm house in the country which he adopted for a workshop. He experiments working all by himself from the very beginning (idea) to the end (presentation of work). He worked out original techniques of animation, to be specific - the process of changing light and shadow pieces and its permanent contact with nature. Here the essential artistic matter were the conditions which come with the seasons of the year - the weather, clouds, sunlight, wind or even humidity.
He is working on a theatre of natural light which he would like to build in the location of the equator. He presented his works (theatre performances, visual performances, art actions and installations) at many festivals in Poland, rest of Europe and Turkey, Israel, Mexico, Brazil.